Thorns in Chains (Solo)

During my years as a floral designer, I was often puzzled by one question: why do roses seem to have no posture, and yet remain so universally admired? Why has the rose come to symbolize romance and love?

This work begins with research into the global trade and breeding of roses. Through real-time projection, lecture performance, the work examines a cyclical chain in which the rose, as a symbol of romance exported through cultural hegemony, fuels global commercial networks. The same nations that monopolize cultivation and breeding technologies outsource mass production to countries in Africa and South America, exploiting cheap labor and fragile ecosystems to sustain their profits and the chain.