Roses After The Rain

ROSES AFTER THE RAIN - The Collages My photo series "Roses After The Rain" celebrates the beauty of the feminine. It consists of six pieces, each showing a greatly enlarged detail of a single rose. After printing the images on recycled polyester fabric, I made dresses and matching scarves out of them. My daughter photographed me wearing the pieces and I then created the collages, using the original images of the roses and the photos that my daughter took of me. The collages question the celebration inherent in the photos. Relationship and connectedness come center stage. The female human figure in the collages appears fragmented, yet connected to the image of the rose. How do we connect to each other generally? Clothes are like a second skin. They open up possibilities of being and can be worn to fulfill social codes. As a dancer of tango argentino, I´ve experienced this over and over again: the choice of dress for a Milonga determines which part of myself I want to show and express. Choosing the outfit for the night is like a ritual that prepares me for the “Códigos”, the social codes, of tango. The photo prints and cut of the dresses of this series are inspired by those rituals, but generally refer to clothing rituals in societal contexts, specifically those of women. The roses´ details resemble wet vaginas, uteri, fragile, nearly transparent tissues. In the collages I question the relationship to ones own femininity, sensuality and beauty. How do women connect to themselves? To their daughters? How do the daughters see their mothers? Their femininity? Using recycled polyester for the dresses and scarves references connectedness to resources and cyclical processes. How much does being a woman, having female organs connect us to those? How much of a connection is possible, or even desirable?