Sync: Early Spider Orchids

Sync: Early Spider Orchids addresses the sensual/sexual relationship between the bee and the orchid flower resulting in hybrids of the two. The format is derived from late 1900s natural history educational charts that were designed to be seen from the back of the classroom. The reverse painting on glass with reflective foil is a nod to Victorian tinsel painting popular at that time, and also to our backlit digital devices which have replaced the classroom chart.

Orchids have a long history as sensual and sexual plants. The early spider orchids have been dependent on bees to pollinate them, but global warming has resulted in this relationship being ‘out of sync.’ Emitting a perfume-like the scent of the female bee, the orchids attract the male bees who try and copulate with them. When they discover that they are in fact not a female, the male moves on to another orchid, trying again to mate and inadvertently pollinating the successive orchids. As the climate warms the females come out of hibernation sooner than the orchid flower. The male bees mate with them and do not interact with the orchid, resulting in a lack of pollination.

Sync: The Orchid and the Hummingbird

In Sync: The Orchid and the Hummingbird, hybrids of hummingbirds and orchids are created from the paintings by the celebrated late 19th century painter, Martin Johnson Heade.