Florescence is a series of large-scale mixed media drawings of abstract, botanical-inspired forms. The word florescence refers to the process, state, or period of blooming or flowering, and can also be used to describe something that is thriving or flourishing.

I started this series in late wintertime, when we were only just beginning to feel the beginnings of spring. Going on walks through parks I saw the first buds beginning to emerge, and I thought about the things that had been hidden, held safe underground: seeds. How encouraging it was to see those green shoots push through after such a long winter, vulnerable and strong. I empathized with them.

In this series, I thought of seeds as having four parts: a shell that acts as a vessel (blue), holding nascent energy (red) safe until the right moment, a place where energy transmutes (black) and bursts into life and movement (yellow). I used this basic legend as a guide when creating the work.

Not every piece has each colour or form. Some of the pieces talk about that wintertime stasis, while others are about the moment of bursting, blooming. I imagine that they are a combination of magnified images of microscopic forms, labels and schematics by someone investigating this (and perhaps that was my role in this), attempting to make sense of this mysterious process of blooming. The process of making this series was not unlike the process they’re trying to illustrate: strange and a little weird, but ultimately joyous.