BLOOM INTO BEING

BLOOM INTO BEING

This body of work was the focus for my Honours year investigating the symbolic relevance of the orchid in contemporary art. Working across the mediums of drawing, sculpture, collage, video and floral installation.

From the smallest stem emerges the bud and with each day earth, warmth and light encourage the flowering. Until it reaches the full maturity of a confident bloom. The organic blossoming of an orchid is the sexual and creative energy that parallels art making.

To relate to and to seek a relation to nature is a biophilic imperative essential to identity and belonging. The symbolic power of the orchid has always seduced and ignited a deeper passion in people. The biological resilience and adaptability of orchids makes them too, an optimistic symbol. I hope that this passion will inspire a greater concern for conservation and our treatment of the natural world.

Drawing is a foundational and traditional practice in art coupled with a long history. The element of watercolour references the long history of botanical illustration therefore a watercolour orchid makes contemporary links to a traditional practice. And, the pairing of gold leaf emphasises the sacredness of life and creation.