JG+SHI – Blooming Decay

'Blooming Decay' studies the decomposition of flowers and how death can be reversed through the manipulation of the camera

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Blooming Decay is a photo series exploring the decaying process of lifeforms and how our traditional perception of atrophy can be reversed through colour manipulation. In the sequence of black and white images shot on films, we encounter blooms at their peak, in which life is expanding with opulence. The stark black and white contrast suggests movement and a heartiness only the youth can project. However, when these flowers are stripped from their natural bright colours, the viewer perceives livelihood as a thing from the past. Life has been put to a halt, sets in stone and enclosed in muted greys.

On the other hand, the series of Polaroids, depicting dried flowers, borrows the colours from their budding counterparts. We bleached the negatives of the Polaroids to create a textured, eroding and elusive appearance to the image, evoking the act of disappearance during decay. Yet, the palette of blazing reds, clashing against utter darkness, instills bashful energy and reveals evidence of life. There is a sense of immediacy, or even urgency, a connection with the viewer that is absent from the black and white sequence. Similar to our relationship with Polaroids, these subjects feel precarious but are everlasting in their narratives.

JG+Shi are a photo, art and creative direction duo based and living in Montreal, Canada. Storytelling is at the core of their craft. Through the universes they imagine, they strive to share their sensitivity to colours, light and the poetics of the everyday.