Behind the Exhibit: Sincerely, Plants

Can you tell us a bit more about your research around plants, specifically what you've discovered about our collective relationship with them?

There are endless different ways plants exist or function in our lives that influence and create relationships between us. My research is largely focused on exploring our connections to house plants and cut flowers since we have developed such a strong attachment to these traditional uses of plants.

House plants have become increasingly more popular in our society, mostly due to social media and consumer trends. For example, it is now common to use house plants as an element of interior design to bring colour and warmth into a home or even a business. Social media also shows how individuals develop ‘maternal’ bonds to their plants because of their responsibility to properly and consistently care for them.

Giving an individual a bouquet of flowers is a cherished human tradition that functions as an extension of human language and emotion, yet the industry itself is very harmful to the environment. We receive most cut flowers from flower farms overseas that occupy large areas of land, require an unsustainable amount of water, and use pesticides that pollute surrounding areas.

While I enjoy engaging with these traditional uses of plants, I also believe it is necessary to acknowledge and raise awareness of how our current relationships with plants can be harmful and unsustainable.

How did this work inspire your current exhibit?

‘Sincerely, Plants’ is a culmination of some of the artwork I have created over the last three years. I included pieces that demonstrate the variety of ideas and concepts I have focused on while exploring different approaches to learning about plants. As I discovered different and new research, I would communicate my thoughts and findings in different ways; sometimes anthropomorphizing plants, or combining plants with urban environments, or focusing on things that tie humans and plants together, like plant tags.

When did you first become interested in plants?

When I moved away from home to begin my undergraduate degree at Western University, I brought with me the potted orchid I had received as a birthday gift the year before. I’ve always loved orchids, but they’re notoriously a very difficult plant to care for. When I brought mine to university, the blossoms had already died and fallen off, but I still kept the plant for years, finding it impossible to throw away. Since then, I’ve been fascinated by our connections to plants and have enjoyed using artwork to communicate my research and personal observations.

You recently did a Flower Pounding workshop - what is Flower Pounding?

Flower Pounding uses the natural colour of fresh flowers to dye another material and leave an imprint of a flower or leaf. Place a brightly-coloured flower, flower petal, or leaf onto your material (like paper or 100% cotton fabric), cover with parchment paper, and pound with a hammer to release the dye into the material. The dye will fade if the material is washed frequently, so be cautious not to choose an object that will get dirty easily!