Flowerplay (Never pull the petals)

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Artwork Title: 
Flowerplay (Never pull the petals)
Artwork Size: 
h:49.2cms x w:43.4cms (framed).
Artwork description: 
This is the eighth drawing and was inspired by the instructions which caution against rough usage of the flower. The plastic flower parts now are extremely brittle and I was moved by their embodiment of the passage of time. Despite understanding plastic differently now that the havoc that it has wrought in the natural world is unavoidable, it does not alter the fact I have learned from and loved these plastic flowers for decades. I will never part with them and their delicacy reminds me of the care taken in handling real flower specimens. The flower represented is made according to the instructions and is surrounded by some of it's constituent petals which are broken and useless but there is one of the petals near the top which now looks like wings and makes me think of the flower's delicate fluttering soul. I used a detached hand from a boudoir doll which belonged to my grandmother to delicately hold the flower. The doll's arm is that of a young woman, not a child and this is intriguing within the context of girls' and women's relationship to flowers in the context of art and society.
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Artwork Date: 
2012