Wild Flower

As if on cue for welcoming the spring, my plants have bloomed! Orchidaceae, o orchidaceae.

 

Orchids hold a particular significance for me, because they are such a humble, hardworking flower. I heard that some breeds can take up to 9 years to blossom from a seed. Moreover, they are strong plants; I had bound its stem to a stake, and yet it thrusts forward at an uncompromising angle, willing to face the sun. Perhaps this is why Hung Liu chose Orchid as the title for her collage, featuring a 19th century Chinese courtesan:

Hung Liu, Wild Flower (Orchid), 1999. Lithograph, gold aluminum leaf, collage on paper, 25.125x 19".

Throughout Chinese history, flowers have symbolized women, and vice versa, as beautiful intoxicating creatures borne from nature. Scattered around the woman's frame is a variety of stamps from exotic locations, as if keeping a record of the places that she has been. The fact that the portrait, plants, and insects are flattened out in the same picture plane calls attention to the historical objectification of women, in setting up the comparison between emotionless mate selection and impassive nature of horticulture.

Altogether I find the peaceful sketches from nature and color combinations of muted plums, golds, and reds simultaneously calming and painfully nostalgic.

 d a n i e l l e

ps. speaking of flowers, listen to this.