Relic Series

This series displays blossoms from my garden as fragments from the past. For years, as I worked in the garden, I admired the beauty of these flowers as I threw them away. Past their bloom, their colors changed but remained intense, and the surfaces became darkly lustrous.

I heard a news story about a relic of Buddha being moved for viewing; this lead me to remember saintsí relics I had seen in a Catholic church as a child: all remnants of extraordinary beings preserved so we can somehow be in their presence. My flowers, remnants of nature, may be more common but they are valuable in the same way. With this intention, I collected the blossoms and placed them on my scanner.

The nearly human scale of the resulting prints draws attention to the physicality of the remains. As the prints became objects, almost with weight, the flowers themselves were losing their substance. Their beauty lives on in images of their ruins.

The first 12 images were made in 2004 and I add to the series as new subjects present themselves.

Limeted edition of 20 prints each.

Print sizes as shown in individual pages: 20 x 24 in to 24 x 45 in.

Materials: Pigmented ink prints on UltraSmooth Fine Art paper (all archival materials)