“Each one whom Life exiled I named and called”
From ‘The Unreturning’ by Wilfred Owen
About Markings
Markings is a longterm piece of work that has evolved out of ‘The Unreturning’ – a smaller project that focused on Remembrance and which took its name from a poem by Wilfred Owen, the First World War poet.
The poem, like much of Owen’s work, was published posthumously – as the Shropshire born poet was killed in action on 4 November 1918 – just one week before Armistice Day.
The Unreturning project includes pictures from Ypres (taken on the weekend of 11.11.11), Tyne Cot Cemetery and at the D-Day 60, D-Day 70 and D-Day 75 commemorations in Portsmouth.
The intention had been to complete this project in 2020 – by recording the VE Day commemorations marking the 75th anniversary of the ending of the Second World War, but Coronavirus (Covid-19) prevented that.
Since it’s initial inception, the work has grown exponentially and the challenge has been to find a way to link the very different and diverse strands together in a coherent way.
‘Markings’ broadens the focus from Remembrance and Commemoration ceremonies to include other ways wartime activity is ‘marked’, including through a record of buildings, war machines, equipment, locations and reenactors – plus Remembrance Ceremonies
Currently, all images form an uncurated collection. At the end of the project, there will be curate a collection of images that, when considered together, best represent the project.
Main image: Standards and banners being paraded at the D-Day 70 Commemorations
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All images © W N BISHOP