The Floating World

The Floating World series is based in the Japanese Ukiyo-e culture that represents the transient and ephemeral nature of life and also the realm of worldly pleasures. Interestingly, the term "ukiyo" in Japanese Budhism also represents the sorrowful world with its endless cycle of birth, life, suffering, death and rebirth. The flowers portrayed in this series are experiencing a process of transformation, between life and death, pleasure and sorrow. They are no longer part of a plant or a whole. They are now free to seek and follow their individual path. They are alone, by themselves and are at the mercy of nature, of the unknown. These flowers represent an individual with his/her personal and unique history spreading out through his/her existence and also at the end or the transformation of it. They also represent the passing of time and the aging process. They are not only portraying a still life but a changing, moving life.