ONCE MY FLOWERS FELL INTO THE OCEAN.
An exploration of lost connections to the maternal and biophilic, a project of stories and solace.
Through Victorian botanical language, I narrate the resurgence of my maternal line from patrilineal control. Complex surfaces reflect the traumatic history of domestic abuse while floral frameworks act as a reclamation of the past.
Growing up with a warped perspective and hearing derogatory remarks about women led me to largely disregard my maternal line, along with feminism and femininity as a whole. It had become difficult for me to engage with these ideas as my trust and care were eroded by these experiences. The aftermath of tribulation led me back to the women in my family, and only then I rediscovered my love for art and gardens with a surge of genealogical awe.
My methods for creating do not aim to cover up the dust, debris or damage. Sea glass structures act as a process without fear of ‘the wrong’, and imperfections are just indications of temporal mood. Flowers grow over and reclaim tarnished surfaces and scraps, knowing that the injury will always remain.
This bulk of work stands as my goodbye to what was, and my return home. Through my process I embed my narrative within the vast and intricate beauty of Mother Nature.
Stephanie Grace Giannini (b.2001) is an emerging artist currently working and studying on Wurundjeri country. With oil paints and found objects, her practice incorporates autobiographical understandings of feminism and domestic abuse within a context of green and blue spaces. Both process and outcomes strive to be a cathartic release and an ebb and flow of connection with nature.
