Portrait(s) Mourning Flowers, 2024

Portrait(s) Mourning Flowers is a deeply personal project where I incorporate flowers that remind me of my mother’s passing. On the day of her funeral, I experienced car troubles that delayed my arrival, causing me to miss the speeches about her. As I left, I took some of the flowers from her service, which eventually died but left me with their seeds. These seeds were pollinated and have since come to symbolize the cycle of life for me.

In my grieving process, I revisited collaged works from 2021 that I had struggled to complete, unsure how to bring them to the vision I desired. Now, with fresh perspective, I’ve reworked them by adding acrylic flowers that evoke my mourning and connection to my mother, who always supported my art and particularly loved my paintings. Some of the pieces also feature newly collaged photographs, blending past and present as I continue to process my grief.