Houseplants

Our relationship with the material belongings that surround us is one to be marvelled at. Family heirloom and years-old treasures aside, everyday objects– the books, the trinkets, the stickers and magnets, the little bowls, the funny pens and the millions of other things that we build our nests out with, are an incredible cornucopia of the useful and plain emotional.

Of all our belongings, houseplants are what fascinate me the most. Somewhere half-way between pets and things, our green companions are neither things nor really pets anyway– yet, they bring a certain calm joy to our living spaces. I've never been one to have a green thumb, but plants have certainly been the "things” I've fussed over the most. Over the years, I've brought home several– of which several were iterations of the versions that didn't previously make it. Despite having tried about 40 odd iterations, plants are the things I simply cannot not have.

Inspired by them, I'm excited to share this work I call Houseplants, a happy hybrid of everyday household belongings and plant forms.

Building actual things out of other things was an exciting exercise and in fact, it turned out to be a lot harder than I expected. Having worked with paper, fabric and digital media– all soft media– all my life, working with hard things that need breaking, sawing, twisting, soldering was an interesting challenge. I'm certain I managed to inhale more than an acceptable amount of glue gun strings thus far.

Below are some detail shots and outtakes from the shoot. Enjoy!