MEMENTO MORI

Why do I photograph dead or dying flowers?

Put simply I don’t believe in death and such moments allow me to witness and experience the change, calmness and progress of a journey into an unknown. There is a purpose and energy beyond what we recognise as living that I wish to respond to and celebrate.

Flowers are generally regarded as being ‘pretty’ and of value for a relatively short time and soon become trash or waste thereafter. Many celebrate the cherry tree blossom in full bloom while other’s grow disappointed when its flowers last only a few weeks, having waited so long to witness such splendour. Many celebrate not the bloom but the fragility and impermanence so splendid, with anticipation and longing to look forward to; enjoying the moment ultimately knowing it will pass but never disappear.

In nature everything that begins a journey of decay immediately begins a change and new form, to feed something other. A constant amount of atoms exist to simply rotate and develop some new purpose, even for a short time. Artists seem intrinsically drawn to decay, fascinated by a stage when ‘pretty’ is past and transition becomes more apparent …a time yet to come, a period that raises so many questions.

This is a reminder of the immediacy and fragility, a short-lived period documented knowing ultimately all things change and that death is not the end and yet it is inevitable.