“Memory is something that surprises you; it’s your identity, it’s yourself, but it only comes through sometimes. And you never know when it will come. It’s like an eruption.” These are the words of the famous Syrian-American artist and writer Simone Fattal (b. 1942), whose sculptures, paintings and collages are steeped in mythology and nostalgia. Following in her footsteps is Stephanie O’Connor, a photographic artist from Tāmaki Makaurau, Aotearoa (New Zealand), and currently based in Berlin, Germany. Like Fattal, she is interested in memory, bringing it to life through “obsessive” editing and grading. Her latest series is titled Under the Weight of Flowers, and it’s about belonging, imagination and remembrance.
Flowers are central to this latest collection of images, and the reasons why are manifold. For one, they evoke personal memories – O’Connor grew up amongst the lush gardens of Aotearoa (New Zealand), and still revels in the family stories to be found there. She also draws on the late poet and artist Etel Adnan, who loved flora (for they “shine stronger / than the sun”) and drew attention to their temporality (“their eclipse means the end of / Times”). Here, dew glistens on leaves and red berries punctuate dark blue skies. O’Connor’s series dwells in the present moment, what her longtime collaborator and poet Frances Libeau calls “the active verb of Spring”, in which blooms and their beholders are stilled in a dream-like state of celebrating new life – however long it may last.
People, meanwhile, are portrayed in macro. O’Connor found her subjects amongst urban cities, pinpointing transitory residents “who bloom and fade with the seasons.” O’Connor’s cropped close-ups ask questions about the relationship between humans and nature; we don’t know if these figures are stood amongst vast fields or sat on a metal bench, staring up a concrete high rise. Either way, light and texture are key here, as blossoming shadows bounce off pale freckled skin or the sun reflects in deep brown eyes. In Libeau’s words: “eyes become flowers – flowers, eyes.” The fondness of these subjects with the photographer is evident – whatever they are looking at, they gaze upon it with warmth, like the coming of spring after a long winter.
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All images courtesy Stephanie O’Connor, from Under the Weight of Flowers.
