The Gathering is a sculptural installation inspired by floriography, the Victorian language of flowers, in which botanical forms functioned as coded messages, particularly within constrained social systems. Historically, floriography offered a way to speak indirectly, allowing desire, longing, grief, and refusal to be communicated through living matter.
The installation takes the form of a monumental, wall-sized bouquet composed of flowers and weeds: wild cucumber, milkweed, thorns, leaves, and other plant materials typically dismissed or overlooked. The bouquet begins at the floor and spirals upward, passing through two mannequin hands at its center before expanding across a ten-foot wall. The hands act as both offering and restraint. They hold, gather, and release at once. Over the course of the exhibition, the plant material wilted, dried, and transformed. Milkweed pods opened, releasing seeds that drifted through the gallery air, extending the work beyond its physical boundaries.
The creation of The Gathering was rooted in feminine labor—repetitive, physical, and often invisible. Building the bouquet required the use of my entire body: bending, lifting, reaching, fastening, and holding plant material in place for extended periods of time. The scale of the installation demanded endurance rather than delicacy. The Gathering resists the expectation that beauty is effortless.
The installation takes the form of a monumental, wall-sized bouquet composed of flowers and weeds: wild cucumber, milkweed, thorns, leaves, and other plant materials typically dismissed or overlooked. The bouquet begins at the floor and spirals upward, passing through two mannequin hands at its center before expanding across a ten-foot wall. The hands act as both offering and restraint. They hold, gather, and release at once. Over the course of the exhibition, the plant material wilted, dried, and transformed. Milkweed pods opened, releasing seeds that drifted through the gallery air, extending the work beyond its physical boundaries.
The creation of The Gathering was rooted in feminine labor—repetitive, physical, and often invisible. Building the bouquet required the use of my entire body: bending, lifting, reaching, fastening, and holding plant material in place for extended periods of time. The scale of the installation demanded endurance rather than delicacy. The Gathering resists the expectation that beauty is effortless.