The gift you have just received is made of roses collected by me from flower shops in Winnipeg Manitoba, where I currently live, after they were deemed no longer fit for sale.
The sculpture is made of a dried rose bouquet, wrapped in silk (Habotai paj silk, made in India) that was dyed using rose petals. The bouquet of roses is wrapped in fabric and tied snug. I was thinking about embalming practices while doing it, specifically thinking about the ancient Andean practice of wrapping the dead in specially crafted textiles before burial. At the same time, tying the roses snug reminded me of swaddling babies.
This method of working was chosen to honour the spirit of the roses. The plants lived one day long ago and I seek to extend their life as an art object and gift to you.
These flowers were grown, transported, displayed, inspected, exported or imported by you at some point. They were grown in South America, travelled through Miami, Florida to Canada in refrigerated airplanes and trucks, moving through the international supply distribution chain. I give them back to you as a gift to thank you and to honour your labour in the cut-flower industry.
With this gift to you, I invite us to imagine a new way of relating to roses and to each other. I aim to conjure relationships that are anchored in reciprocity. Roses are a living being, not a mere commodity. How do they love us and how can we love them back? how can we love each other?
This invitation extends to imagine ways in which we can transform the international supply distribution chain into a more sustainable system. Roses have thorns to remind us just to take only what we need. What can we learn from them? How can we take this lesson into the future?
I invite you to share your ideas with me, please send me a message
PROCESS PHOTOS
