and then/in full bloom
exoticized bodies and floracultures in the 21st century

The work took as a starting point the writing of Langston Hughes, from his 1934 story "Slave on the Block", (and  particularly referenced the character of Luther) in order to bring into question the innocence of aesthetic attraction. Allusions to both ethnicity and gender gathered in the arms of the holders of the flowers (the performance artists) were explored through a multi-faceted trajectory of ideas, and through overlapping associations related to images of beauty and pleasure. Simultaneously, the performance strategically urged the viewer to question the politics of such constructions and to reconsider Hughes work in a 21st century context. The ecological vulnerability of the city of Hamilton in relation to the body of its inhabitants culminated in a kind of anti-aesthetic opposition to the romanticism inherent in gendered associations to floraculture, to the positioning of Luther in the novel, and to the currency of the site's environmental issues.

Hamilton, ON
Hamilton Artists Inc.
Curated by Ian Jarvis
2007

Photography:  Edwin Burnett