War flowers: Letters home from WWI on display at Canadian War Museum

A touching collection ofwartime correspondencefrom a Canadian soldier to his babydaughter has made its way to the Canadian War Museum as part of a multi-faceted installation that demonstrates humanity'sability to find beauty, even inhistory's ugliesthours.

Lt.-Col. George Stephen Cantliewas a Canadian officerin the First World War. He would send letters home to his family in Montreal,and inside eachwas a pressed flower he had picked for his one-year-old daughter Celia from the trenches and shell-torn battlefields of France.

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The multi-sensoryexhibition, called War Flowers, was created by international documentary filmmaker Viveka Melki.

The installation includes multiple components, the combination of which Melkisaid she hopes elicits "a visceralexperience" for visitors.

Part of theexhibition focuses onCantlie's lettersand theflowers he mailed home,includingdaisies, daffodilsand poppies.The century-old flowers kepttheir colours, but Melkisaid they needed the intervention of abotanistto help conserve their fragile forms.

Personal stories

The flowers are interwoven with the personal stories of 10 Canadians whowere directly involved in the war, including accounts ofthe fighting atVimyRidge, working behind the lines for the Red Cross, and the post-war ravages of Spanish influenza.

"I've been working with veterans for a long time, and thelanguage and the words around conflict are alwaysdifficult.I'm trying to talk about the human nature in wartime," Melkisaid on CBCRadio's Ottawa MorningThursday.

Melkihas also included an olfactory component. Shecommissioneda Quebec perfume expert to create a series of scents that are released with a push of a button. Eachscent isattached to a notionsuch aseternal sleep, memory and devotion.

Melkiwants visitors to recall their own memories of family or home when they smell such scents as lemon or mustard.

"We, the artists, are touched by the emotion. The words are moving, stunning, important, relevant, and it's very emotional for people," Melki said.

The installation will be on display in Ottawa until Jan. 7 before travelling to Toronto. It moves on to the visitor centre at the VimyMemorial in France next spring, then to Montreal next July.