Though the project started back in 2003 with 12 artist, three years later it got whittled down to a core group of six. Kari Aasen, Lippa Daln, Siri Haaskjold, Bjrg Hougen, Audhild Rypdal and Eli Veim, all ceramicists graduated from the Bergen National Academy of the Arts, make up Flora Metamorphicae. Their 4000 ceramic flowers, all individually hand-made, take on a myriad of different shapes depending on the location. Displayed indoors or outdoors they can look like everything from a gorgeous rainbow carpet and a round rug to a sinewy river or a small stream.
As Veim explains, “For the most part we each produce flowers in our respective studios, then compose them in our warehouse. The project takes shape through conversations and discussions and in relation to specific exhibition locations.”
The Norwegian group will be showing their work at the Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts in Grand Rapids, Michigan as an entry into the ArtPrize 2012 competition. Starting from September 19 and through November 18, the thematic event, called Somewhere Else, will feature 17 large-scale works that promise to transport viewers to another time and place.
