Flowers

Tanja Lažetić
Flowers
Installation
2019–2021

I am obsessed with flowers. I let them seduce me, although I am perfectly aware that their beauty but conceals human domination over them. Commodified ornamental flowers without thorns, extra leaves or irritating smells, flowers of “just the right” size and colour are “artificial”, despite the fact that they grow and rot. We buy them in flower shops all over the western world, where these particular plant species can no longer be found in natural environment. Ornamental flowers are grown in the flower plantations of third world countries and are linked to the exploitation of natural resources and people. By digitally modifying photographs and negatives, I have attempted to “beautify” the flower images to perfection. By adapting “nature” to contemporary taste, I have attempted to depict our own attitude towards lasting changes in the human body and the environment.”

– Tanja Lažetić