Based in Nelson, Martin de Ruyter has used the tools passed down to him from his grandfather, great grandfather and great-great grandfather to create stylised poppies from used brass bullet shells. It’s a new form of what was known as Trench Art in World War I, when soldiers would create art from objects found in the trenches, during quiet periods between battles.
He references those battles with the colours of the Anzac Poppy in the brooches, including the classic red/black poppy, alongside newer variations with small poppies dotted on a white or pink background. A recent addition is the Ukraine poppy brooch, half blue and half yellow, highlighting the struggle against Russia in that country.
