Poppy Day

A colourful screenprint that combines the central imagery of Armistice Day, four dancing figures of women celebrating the end of the war, with snapshots of their male relatives above. The work also includes imagery addressing the story of Mata Hari, a Dutch dancer who was executed by the French in 1917 on charges of being a German spy. Mata Hari's story fascinated Hanrahan and she has placed her shadowy figure between the steely gazes of the general and the admiral. Hanrahan has restricted the colours of the upper section of 'Poppy Day' to two tones of pale blue, while the lower, larger part of the print is brightly coloured, even garish, with acidic yellow. Patterning and decoration are strong elements of the work. Four women in a line all dressed up and dancing. The reason for their celebration should make them all joyful and yet their smiles reveal sharp peg like teeth that are slightly sinister and their movements seem awkward. The large beautiful, bright red poppies remind us of the soldiers slaughtered in the fields of France even as the poppies continued to bloom.