MOURNING FLOWERS (HOME) (PRESS) (GARDEN) (FLOWERS) (FLOWER SLEEVES) (EXHIBITIONS) (SUPPORT) (SITES)
MOURNING FLOWERS (EXHIBITION)
Pop-up Installation at The International Spontaneous Memorial Conference
University of Manchester, UK
June 12-13, 2025
The International Spontaneous Memorial Conference aims to explore sociocultural, psychological, curatorial, digital and research methodology dimensions of spontaneous memorials. In particular, it examines the impact that spontaneous memorials have on individuals, communities, organisations and societies. The conference is funded by the UK’s Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) .and supported by Creative Manchester.
The images on display are a selection from Mourning Flowers, an art project that brings awareness to the ripple effects of trauma and fear that communities sustain after acts of violence. It uses the flowers and the empty sleeves that once wrapped them left as offerings at spontaneous memorials to bridge the disconnect between violence and the human response to it.
The three photographs on display:
1. 2025, One Pot of Five Daffodils Over Time for the Boston Marathon bombings.
2. 2024, Forty Five Sets of Flowers Left at the 9/11 Memorial on September 11, 2024
3. 2023, 18 Bouquets of flowers for each October 25, 2023 shooting victim in Lewiston, Maine.
Flower sleeves collected in 2024 from the one year anniversary of the mass shootings in Lewiston, Maine and the 9/11 Memorial. Made site specific with recycled flower sleeves, floral wire, monofilament and tape.
Installing the exhibition was a two day labor of love that transformed the back of a classroom with purple walls and framed posters bolted to the walls into a quiet, meditative room. So many thanks to Kostas Arvanitis, director of the conference who lent a hand with install and wrangled students to help. The team was: Maria Kanay, Trisha Bhattacharya, Marco Capicotto, Yuna Sun and Nikki Kinoulty. From the US: My friend Cass Walker flew from Seattle to be a installer, photographer and wing man; Pam Schwartz, who spent many years on the Pulse Nightclub archive and installations (also key note speaker for the conference) was kind enough to come in for a last minute consult and lighting design. She was traveling with her niece, Destiny Schwartz a kindergarten teacher by trade natural art installer by day, who gave up her vacation time to sweep in and lead the crew to the finish line.
