Designer: Tower of London poppies are tribute to human cost of WWI

The designer who created the display of poppies around the Tower of London has defended his first world war centenary artwork – accused of “fake nobility” – as a powerful communal tribute to a great loss of human life.

Speaking to the Observer, Tom Piper said: “This is not an installation about war, or an illustration of its violence and barbarity; it is about loss and commemoration and has given individuals a unique way to tap back into their own family history and appreciate some of that human cost.”

He was responding to Guardian art critic Jonathan Jones, who last week said the poppies were too pretty to be a reminder of the horrors of war. Jones also said the artwork, which is set to raise up to £10m for six service charities, represents “the inward-looking mood that lets Ukip thrive”.

Large crowds were again reported at the installation on Saturday , despite requests for people to stay away because of a nearby Tube station closure. As nightfall approached, close to 100,000 people were estimated to have visited the site, another huge turnout during a half-term week in which more than 500,000 people have visited the landmark. The Tower of London usually draws around 60,000 visitors at the height of the summer holidays. In total, more than 4 million people are expected to have visited between the installation opening at the start of August and it closing on Armistice Day.

Piper developed the installation, Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red, with artist Paul Cummins, who made the flowers. Piper said he celebrated popular enthusiasm for the poppies, which were planted by volunteers and have been visited by the Queen.

“I would say it is a far subtler piece of work than people might take it for,” said set designer Piper, 49.

“We are all inured to scenes of violence on TV and film, and one thing I have learned from theatre design is not to illustrate a play with the obvious. I think it is a remarkably good thing that it is so accessible. We should not be trying to create something that is difficult to understand.”

The last of 888,246 poppies will be planted at the tower on 11 November and volunteers will start to take them away the next day. Historic Royal Palaces, which runs the landmark, is considering marking the 2018 war end centenary by creating a dark shadow where the field of poppies once stood. Piper is hoping his wave of poppies will be bought by a British institution to raise more funds for charity.