Défloré(e)s: Cornered

Created during NARS Foundation Artist Residency and presented during our resident show "Sixteen memos for the next millennium" the corner installation uses pressed rose petals and audio recordings of people’s recollection of the loss of their virginity. Each account is read by the same androgynous voice. Visitors are prompted to listen closely, smell the roses and submit their own story (which is then integrated back into the piece).

Défloré(e)s in French means loosing one's freshness. The installation stages the fleeting moment when we decide, are pressured or are forced to become active sexual beings. The tension between control and release, nature and culture, are at play. The loss of freshness and the transformative nature of the experience are reflected in the gradient created by the variation of colors between white and red pressed rose petals.