Bleeding Heart

by Ramona Sadiq

Fake flowers have a complicated and long lineage going back to pre-recorded history: foliage is among the earliest motifs to appear in art.  Paper flowers arrived immediately following the invention of paper in China around 100 BC - and the practice spread from there.  Artificial flowers maintain a rare high brow/low lowbrow balancing act - plastic bouquets and ancient golden wreaths make for strange (but delicious) bedfellows.  The flowers here are all recognizably based on real plants, but with enough fine artistry that they are elevated from mere simulacrum - these are objects in homage. 

Materials: tissue paper, canson paper, floral wire, floral tape, glue