Anémochorie Volet 1
2021
When I acknowledged the paradoxes between the traditional symbolism of the cut flower - conveying love - in western countries versus its current production process – in developing countries - and marketing, in cooperation with curator Fiona Vilmer, I tried to identify the assets of globalization. The flower proves to be quite ambivalent as it shows the violence of capitalizing on plants while arousing subtle emotions. Based on a selection of sixteen famous nature morte I reassembled sixteen bunches of fresh flowers which served as models for those paintings. Through this re-creation these bouquets show how and where they were produced at different times and places. The bunches of flowers are surrounded by four bottles of perfume, made from the same variety of roses – the Red Naomie – whose fragrance only differs from where the rose was cultivated, therefore labelled as “parfum de terroir”. Also a painted wooden board serving as a benchmark for the size of the flowers cultivated in Colombia leans against one of the walls. While of delicate and handicraft appearance, this item shows how plants are standardized and industrialized.
Photo : Lucas Charrier