MARCH 15 – APRIL 24 2022
My Dandelions Bloom perpetually, mementos of the growing season, springing from concrete and tile, indoors and out. The dandelion is a silent protest that is heard worldwide on sidewalks, parks and gardens. It abhors monoculture, is open to differences and challenges stereotypes. It can be a symbol for healing from emotional pain, physical injury and surviving through all life’s difficulties as it shows us how to be strong in the face of adversity. The dandelion thrives in difficult conditions surviving the challenges imposed by humanity and emerging victorious on the other side. Context is everything. – Monique Martin
Artist Statement
The dandelion is a silent protest that is heard worldwide on sidewalks, in parks and in gardens. It is a symbol for not accepting a monoculture but being open to differences and open to changing the stereotypes imposed on us by society.
The dandelion weed is the symbol for healing from emotional pain, physical injury and surviving through all life’s challenges and difficulties, it calls us to be strong in the face of adversity. Since the dandelion can thrive in difficult conditions, it is a symbol of fighting through the challenges of life and emerging victorious on the other side. The dandelion tells us to not give up, even if those around you keep trying to get rid of you.
Context is everything; each moment, each decision and each relationship we have in our lives, all the experiences we have had, come together and affect how we respond to stimuli. This project merges the unwanted or celebrated flora and weeds of the prairie landscape and the characteristic of judging people and events and circumstances too quickly without using our prior knowledge and insights.It touches the soul of any person that has ever been discriminated agains ton any level, for their health condition, race, religion, sexual orientation, gender, abilities, body shape and size, even what fashion they are wearing.
I encourage people to pause and consider others and moments more deeply. Weeds can be beautiful, can be a source of nutritional value, and possibly even have medicinal properties. What makes a weed a weed and not a flower, when is one preferred over the other?
Ralph Waldo Emerson said that “a weed is a plant whose virtues haven’t been discovered yet”. If humans took more time to get to know others would they be less racist, more understanding and less prone to generalizations. When do people become weeds? What makes us decide when a person is a weed?
Plants become weeds when they obstruct our plans, or our tidy maps of the world. A weed is “a plant in the wrong place.” Richard Mabey
Special thanks to Michelle’s Frame Maker and Gallery for their support and space.
Please respect Health Guidelines when you visit the work.
“Context is everything” can be viewed from @168 Main Street W, North Bay Ontario.
You can purchase a Dandelion here (Coming Soon)