The Floral Show: Local Exotic

The Suburban Floral Association is primarily the collaborative enterprise of two artists, Monique Redmond and Tanya Eccleston. They are joined for The Floral Show: Local Exotic at Fresh Gallery Otara by Janet Lilo. Using photography, video and installation The Floral Show: Local Exotic will transform Fresh into a conversational hothouse that explores the role of flowers in creating a sense of place, identity and home.
The cultivation of flowers and gardens predominantly exists outside the spectrum of fine art however both relate to the artistic practice in their celebration of colour, form and composition. In addition, gardens and floral arrangements represent areas of sculptural creativity while the growing and sharing of flowers can be seen as symbolic of our social landscape.
Whether celebrating cultural exchange or representing love, loss or the enjoyment of beauty, flowers feature in the major rituals that mark our lives and are often associated with our most intimate moments. It can also be said that the growth and transportation of plants, cut flowers and the use of floral motifs in society reflects patterns of cultural colonisation, migration and settlement.

Suburban Flower Association, Hibiscus video still - #3 white edged deep pink, 2011