10,000 Freshly-Cut Flowers Suspended in Striking Ephemeral Art Exhibit

rebecca louise law the iris exhibition ephemeral art decay

London-based installation artist Rebecca Louise Law boasts an original and organic oeuvre. Using natural materials, Law crafts pieces that celebrate the environment and highlight its inherently ever-changing nature. In a new exhibition titled The Iris, Law addresses her interest in flora and her desire to embrace its ephemerality.

The Iris, a site-specific show created by Law for London’s NOW Gallery, features 10,000 freshly-cut blue, purple, yellow, and white irises. Suspended with copper wire, the topsy-turvy flowers cascade from the ceiling and magically appear to float, transforming the space into an interactive exploration of nature. As the exhibition remains on display, the blooms will eventually die. Their vivid hues will grow dull, their perky petals will wilt, and their fresh fragrance will fade.

“The undulating silhouette of the work will be visible on the approach to the gallery,” NOW explains. “It is not until you enter the space that the work reveals evidence that these fresh flowers are forever changing becomes apparent, as they dry out and their shapes change and contort.” While many may view such a transformation as an unfortunate inevitability, Law sees it as a beautiful process.

Interested in the relationship between man and nature—namely, the push and pull between preservation and decay—the artist aims to “capture and cherish small, beautiful, natural objects to create an artwork that can be observed without the pressure of time.” In fact, The Iris installation itself was inspired by the “small, beautiful, natural objects” found right outside the gallery space, which was once a wetland of tidal marshes. By bringing a bit of nature inside, Law hopes to make connections between both man and nature and the past and present.