Artist Statement
I began creating flower images in 2002 after the death of a favorite person left me pondering the fleeting lives of flowers and people. While walking in my garden images of flower arrays came to me. I imagined flower mandalas that were reminiscent of suzanies from Uzbekistan and the vivid garlands of fresh blossoms I had seen used as religious offerings in Thailand. Using the mandala, the circular form that in Eastern religions represents the universe, I meticulously arrange
flowers from the garden into combinations of color and form that exaggerate the vibrancy of both. Sometimes I slice into buds and append blossoms onto one another. As with all my work, a closer look at the subject reveals hidden secrets – in this case, the flowers’ hairy, sticky, or poisonous parts; pollen; seeds; and the occasional insect.
To make these mandala images, I use the scanner like a large-format camera. I lay flowers directly onto it,
allowing pollen and other flower stuff to fall onto the glass and become part of the image. When the high-resolution scans are enlarged, amazing details and natural structures emerge. Every flower mandala is unique to a moment in time, represents what is in bloom on the day I made it.
My “Flower Mandalas” are printed with archival inks on 100% rag paper. The 44” x 66” prints are produced in limited editions of three.
References
Copyright © 1990- Portia Munson, All Rights Reserved