By creating these half-ephemeral art works, I create a visual representation of what I think the process of memories look like. Flowers/bouquets are incorporated into many events in our lives, as they can be associated with all types of significant situations; Celebrations like Birthdays, Weddings, a new job, or the juxtaposing, Funerals, Memorials, or if someone is ill. I find it interesting that flowers are a versatile way to express love to someone since they are appropriate to use in many types of gatherings.

 

During my process, I found that fresh flowers have the richest colour right after being through the press. From that point onward, it can fade, compared to how we can slowly lose the memory of an event or person. Dried flowers leave behind a more prominent contrast between the ink and the paper. The different levels of life in the flowers before pressing, plays into the idea of how memories can either bleed into others in our minds making things harder to remember clearly. Or the opposite, how they can be very defined with the dried out flowers, making these memories very distinct. 

 

Scientifically, flowers are known for improving memory, but It's obvious we can’t always remember everything forever. The work tends to shift from the natural parts and can't always be seen as the same piece when revisited over time. To capture both sides of this idea, I play with permanent and impermanent materials. This is done by combining the flowers and their dye, with the man-made printing ink, bronze or embossing. 

 

The layout of my work has a visual transition from traditional, geometric shapes, to the natural organic shapes. Starting from the left, they are a more clean and serious construction of works. As you move to the right, the paper becomes torn and ripped and finally moves into the fully organic shapes of the dried bronze casted sunflowers. This is intentional, playing with the idea once again of how our memories can be blurry and not always a clean cut vision we remember. 

 

The bronze casted sunflowers are a manifestation of the past versions of myself, yet each one completely different. I’ve always seen myself as a sunflower when creating self portraits, and I wanted to create space for those versions. Honoring them for what they’ve been through, and to not hide them. Having them as a solid and strong material, confirms those versions of myself, and that they are as valid as any others. Creating this environment for them now encourages that comfort I needed in past times.