In nature, flowers function a vital part of the replica course of. However for people, scented blooms are ripe with myriad meanings and symbolism that transcend their organic features.
Throughout Victorian occasions, providing a bouquet to somebody along with your proper hand indicated a non-verbal “yes,” whereas a yellow carnation would reject an admirer. Equally in artwork historical past, wilting flowers rendered as a momento mori remind us of dying’s inevitability, and for van Gogh, sunflowers have been the proper stand-in for gratitude.
An enormous exhibition opening subsequent month at Saatchi Gallery cultivates an enormous repertoire of works that explores how blooms have change into an omnipresent entity in human life and creativity. Flowers: Flora in Modern Artwork and Tradition brings collectively greater than 500 pictures, installations, sculptures, archival items, and different objects to create a wealthy panorama spanning millennia.
Anchoring the exhibition is an expansive and immersive work of 100,000-plus dried flowers by Rebecca Louise Legislation. Smaller items embody Xuebing Du’s ethereal photographs of flowers in pure gentle, VOYDER’s streaky steam-laden compositions, and luxurious, vibrant gardens by Faye Bridgewater.
Opening in time to usher in spring in London, Flowers runs from February 12 to Might 5.
