Projects & Commissions

Gardens of Earthly Delight, Chester Beatty Library 2005

Flora Japonica (Sold out), etching, image:20cm x 47cm, Edition of 50

On viewing the superb collection at the Chester Beatty Library, I was particularly struck by the wonderful Asiatic handscrolls, backed and bordered with patterened silk brocade. Further research led me to the importance of floral motifs in Chinese and Japanese art. Apart from their beauty, flowers have symbolic significance or associations with particular times of the year. My image portrays flowers representative of the four seasons; from Plum blossom, which flowers in January in Asia and is associated with winter and the New Year, to the Chrysanthemum, a flower of the ninth month, emblematic of longevity. The title of my etching 'Flora Japonica' arises from the botanical term applied to plants whose origins stem from China or Japan.