I’m incredible proud of this project. A massive project, I must say. But it was so worth it. I created 7 floral art installations for a book on grief. Inspired by emotions and illusive things like time.

If you think about grief, you might think about tears, heartbreak and tough, dark times. But like everything in our lives, there’s more than the average experiences. Everyone deals with grief differently. But you are never alone in how you feel. And every emotion is legitimate.

This is exactly what Gerard van Midden (yes, we’re related - he’s my dad ;)) proofs with his book ‘Verdriet is als een egel’.

Sorry, the book is Dutch :) A direct translation is: ‘Sadness is like a hedgehog - 35 stories about grief’. Sometimes you can hold it close, sometimes it’s too spiky to even touch.

Gerard is a writer and an aftercare worker for a funeral home. He gathered 35 stories from people that are dealing with grief. Combined with inspirational texts and poems of his own they fill the book with unique experiences, emotions and insights. All divided over 7 chapters: Time, Loneliness, Anger, Guilt, Relief, Fear and Carry On.

I was asked to create an installation (and multiple photos of it) for each chapter. So that is what I worked on in between classes and other work - from January all the way into August. And now the book is finally here!

The fun part about this project was the creative freedom. I had the texts to inspire me and start associating from there on. What does ‘Anger’ look like in flowers? What colours fit ‘Guilt’? What are the shapes that belong with ‘Fear’? How do you visualise ‘Time’?

I will explain my thought process for each chapter below. And you’ll get a peak behind the curtain of this floral magic soon - in a different post because I have way too many fun photos & videos to share! :)

Chapter: Time

Time is illusive and unpredictable, despite human attempts to control it. It’s getting older, growing, changing. You usually can only see time in hindsight, not in the moment. That is why I choose to depict time in her purest form: the growth of the Natural world.

Plants will always keep climbing to reach the light. Flowers will break through the concrete, bloom and set seed. Moss will eventually form a soft carpet that invites you to lay down and rest.

Chapter: Guilt

Guilt is something you carry with you, a weight on your shoulders that can crush you. I’ve visualised this by creating stormy clouds that can suddenly give a dark and heavy feeling to a clear day. They have something threatening, even if the rain passes in the end.

The clouds are made with dried statice. A materials that looks soft from a distance, but as you move closer you’ll discover the vicious sharp edges.

Chapter: Anger

Anger is loud, chaotic, stressful and sharp. For me, this translated into a big explosion of branches and flowers. Red is the most aggressive colour, orange lilies stand for hatred and the almost decayed red roses represent a love that once was.

The dried coleseed are like tangling bramble vines you might get caught up in during a fight. And the dark background adds drama, making the colours even louder. It’s almost like they are screaming at you.

Chapter: Loneliness

Loneliness isn’t necessarily being alone, but feeling like you’re on your own. This is why I decided to show multiple flower skeletons. They are so thin - if you don’t really look - you might miss them.

The fact they are spent blooms give a raw edge, because loneliness isn’t serene. It’s an uncomfortable emptiness. And finally: the mark you leave will be visible as a subtle imprint on the white sand.

Chapter: Relief

Relief is the feeling of freedom, of a loud exhale, of dancing on the street during the first sunny Spring day. I threaded hyacinths, tulips and other flowers on gold wire to make a flower mobile. The flowers flutter around each other like colourful butterflies. And the gold accents have a warm glow, like someone beaming with happiness.

Chapter: Fear

Fear is inspired by a nervous system. A network with cells that can unexpectedly give incentives. The dried allium flowers were almost made to be a visualisation of this. Their spikes represent the pain, the energy of fear.

The network itself consists of metal wires that almost exploded when I took everything apart. Ironically, there was too much tension that built up over time.

Chapter: Carry On

Carrying on is not the same as letting go. Grief may morph into different shapes, while still being connected to your loved one. I symbolised this movement by creating repetitive curves, loopings of grass and bendy alliums.

Both the ever changing forms of grief and the everlasting connection are visible in the woven and braided grasses. To me, green and white represent a fresh start, like anything is possible.