'The Gardener' drawing

This was a very personal project. This was the first time depicting full-frontal nudity of myself in my work, which was disarming. The use of flowers growing out of the cracks felt like the way weeds grow through cracks.

I hand sculpted air dry clay and then used a heat gun to create the cracks in the sculpture, trying to capture that instant moment that the cracks exploded.

The reference for this planning required weeks worth of shooting and playing in the studio. I made multiple trips to the florists. The flowers also slowly decayed which created an interesting way to capture the passing of time.

The planning I did for this drawing triggered a big chain reaction of other projects, playing with more plants and eventually plaster sculpts of my face. This would later inspire an entire exhibition and huge artwork too.

This entire project helped me explore feelings of vulnerability and regrowth at a very tricky time and I am glad that I did.