Wild and expressive, contemporary flower arrangements draw inspiration from 17th century Dutch botanical paintings, the gothic intrigue of Victoriana and the old-fashioned romance of overgrown secret gardens.
In combination with a moody colour spectrum, impasto-style textures, refined furnishings and decorative elements picked straight from the cabinet of curiosities, it’s a style that heralds the revival of dramatic floral presentations using an abundance of seasonal flowers and gently worn opulence.
FRAME OF REFERENCE
The hobby of flower pressing gets a modern update. This installation was created by pressing flowers and leaves, spray-painting them a uniform colour and displaying them in simple, contemporary frames.
• Choose your flowers and foliage. Make sure everything is dry and blemish-free.
• Place the flora between two sheets of plain parchment or wax (sandwich) paper and put these face down in the middle of a telephone book.
• Once closed, weigh the book down and leave for a week to ten days.
• These flowers were spray painted white once dried and attached to paper using artist’s adhesive, then framed for a dramatic display.
• Don’t saturate your dried flora with paint – spray lightly to allow some of the colour to still show through.
ICE AGE
See the beauty of flowers from a different perspective by freezing edible petals in ice cubes. What better way to perk up drinks than with the vibrant colours of roses, nasturtium, borage, marigold and pansies.
• Fill an ice tray a quarter of the way, preferably with non-carbonated mineral or distilled filtered water (this will prevent any cloudiness and bubbles that might result from using tap water).
• Add flowers or petals facing down and freeze.
• Once fully frozen, add water to the top and freeze again.
• Tip: Using just-boiled water when making the first step of your ice cubes will cause certain flowers such as violas, calendula and borage to release their natural dyes.
THE DARK ARTS
What better reason than a special dinner gathering to release your inner production designer and set an evocative, cinematic scene for your guests. Flowers are present everywhere: in vases and unusual vessels; laid out underneath a simple elevated glass-top structure; as a moulded jelly centerpiece (for display or eating); and pressed flat and painted white as customised artworks. The moody colour palette and elements such as taxidermy, vintage scientific instruments and Baroque candle sticks rendered modern in matt black are tempered by the natural warmth of wood and pops of jewel-like colour in the form of decorative and functional glassware. The inky distressed feature wall is both an abstract focal point and dramatic backdrop inspired by the on-trend colour washing finish.
Style and Production: okasie.co.za
Photography: Warren Heath | bureaux.co.za
