Dramatic Decaying Flowers in Tiffanie Turner’s Solo Show
“What Befell Us” Challenge Notions of Beauty and Perfection
In her latest solo exhibition, What Befell Us, California-based artist Tiffanie Turner explores notions of aging, imperfection, and
perishability. Massive flower blossoms including dahlias, garden roses, ranunculus, and strawflowers are formed from Italian crepe
paper and span more than five feet across. While in her previous work Turner strove for the ideal phenotype of each flower, in What
Befell Us the artist pushes past perfection to investigate our collective relationship to flaws and damage. The artist shares with Colossal that she felt strongly pulled to focus on climate change and environmental peril in her latest show.
She expresses concern that humans’ resistance to perishability with plastic and preservatives also hastens irreparable damage to
the earth. And, as a woman experiencing aging in a superficial society, Turner saw personal parallels with our global obsession with freshness and perfection. She explains:
When I started to choose my specimens for this show, instead of superimposing formal imperfections onto these
pieces, I sought out flowers that are beautiful even though they are not perfect. For example, the two strawflowers in
the show are two sides of the same coin. One is still bright and colorful, but its center is deformed as it starts to lose
moisture. The other is older, its petals slumped back from the fading, greying center. Each are “imperfect”, but both
are undeniably still beautiful. Why just keep trying to create more beauty. Why can’t we just see more things as
beautiful?
What Befell Us is on view at Eleanor Harwood Gallery in San Francisco through June 15, 2019. Follow along with Turner’s latest
work via Instagram. And if you’re inspired to create paper flowers of your own, the artist’s in-depth instructional book is available in
The Colossal Shop.
APRIL 23, 2019 LAURA STAUGAITIS
