Florilegium … traversing the poetry of plants. 2020 

Hand carved porcelain with terra sigillata, sterling and fine silver

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Florilegium is an installation of forty two handcrafted sculptural brooches created from hand-formed porcelain with terra sigilata and forged sterling and fine silver.

 

This series of brooches is inspired by the complexity and richness of native flora. They are not faithful representations, instead they are subjective interpretations that foreground the precariousness of our finely balanced ecosystem. They have been scaled up from the micro to macro to draw the viewer in, consider the hidden and ponder the preciousness of the disregarded. The works also speak of bodily references, echoing the arches and curves and the sensuousness found in the jewel like fruits and flowers of plants.  

 

The pairs of porcelain and silver brooches are presented in such a way as to facilitate an appreciation of our similarities as creatives, as well as highlighting how each of our individual responses is unique. 

The resulting installation is like a line of text, a conversation, a dialogue - between us as artists; between our chosen materials; between the created forms themselves; between the brooch and the body; and between the maker and the wearer..… a poetic anthology that speaks of connection and of the beauty, allure and enigmatic nature of plants.

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