'WAR AND PEACE: SENBAZURU' : A SCULPTURE BY ESTHER DREHER

If you have been into our library in the last few weeks then you would have spotted the mesmerising display, ‘War and Peace: Senbazuru’ by Esther Dreher. The sculpture has been created using the Japanese tradition of Senbazuru (one thousand origami cranes), which has become a widely recognised symbol of World Peace.

This piece has been made entirely from one altered book, where one thousand squares have been cut out from the pages of War and Peace to make one thousand cranes. Half of the birds fall downwards to represent death and the horrors of war, while the other five hundred birds fly off into the distance from the open window as a sign of hope for future peace.

The sculpture can be seen in the Children’s Library and through the first window as you enter the building from Best Lane. It is part of the continuing Altered Stories exhibition in The Beaney Drawing Room, where further examples can be found.