Beauty Cleanses the Mind
2020
My response to the first lockdown was to ask – how could I help? Flowers seemed important given their role in challenging times. This led to research on the hidden meanings of flowers – used historically as a way to send coded messages. From this I began creating a series of small poignant bouquets using flowers found in my garden. Which I photographed using a 1970’s Polaroid camera. 6 shots of each bouquet were made available for individuals to nominate a recipient.
6 sets of Polaroids, were offered weekly, were given for free and awarded on a first come first served basis – without judgement. The Polaroids were then posted with an accompanying letter explaining the gift, the name of nominator and the flowers meanings. I sent these gifts to people’s isolated parents, front line works, missed friends and sad children.
The six bouquets were:
White Lilac and Forget-me-nots: Innocence and Remembrance
Cornflowers and Periwinkles: Hope and Good memories
Pink Roses and Honesty: Devotion and Honesty
Clematis and Gorse: Ingenuity and Industriousness
Poppies and Lavender: Peace/Remembrance and Silence
Peonies, Rose and Aqualija: Good Fortune, Love and Resurrection
