‘Biographical Poppies’ is a series of watercolour and collage works by Brian Clarke, created between 2019 and 2020. The flowers are depicted individually or in groups, either on long stems or as close-ups of their crowns. Splashes and drips of watercolour paint enrich the compositions, which also incorporate small black-and-white historical photographs, including images of cotton mills, mill chimneys, medieval churches and other archival scenes.

Poppies constitute a prominent motif in Clarke’s artistic production, appearing as the central subject of his extensive 2019 to 2020 ‘Vespers’ series.