RUTA SAKSENS KALMANE
FLORAL FIREWORKS
2024-2025
As nature slowly loosens its grip on the cold, this project brings summer indoors through vibrant photomontages in which flora and fauna come alive. Set against the fragility of biodiversity, these luminous works invite wonder, hope, and a quiet moment of attentive joy.
While cold days go by and nature prepares for warmer weather, this project brings summer indoors through the juicy colors and delicate play between the vivid flora and fauna subjects in Ruta Saksens Kalmane's vibrant artworks.
According to a WWF Living Planet Report large-scale study, in recent decades Dutch nature has faced a decline in natural open spaces and wildlife, especially bird and butterfly populations. This project draws attention to the biodiversity around us and invites viewers to pause, indulge in the colorful floral fireworks, and get carried away by the joyful photomontages. These radiant artworks are vitamins for the soul, inviting us to look forward to warmer months full of blooming flowers, chirping birds, and buzzing insects.
PHOTOMONTAGES
The "Floral Fireworks" series contains photomontages created from multiple digital photographic images. By stacking images, the realistic images transform. They undergo a metamorphosis, resulting in a new, unique photomontage. Although the flora and fauna subjects are easily recognizable, you are left bewildered and constantly questioning what is real and what is not in the photomontages. These artworks balance on the line between reality and surrealism. All photomontages were created between the fall of 2024 and the beginning of 2025. They are made from multiple manually layered and modified digital photographic images from the photographer's archive.
ANTHOTYPES
The colours of flowers are also visible in several anthotypes. These prints don't come from a printer, but are created through the collaboration of flowers, humans, and the sun. To create an anthotype, a positive image or object is placed on paper with an emulsion of petals. The work is then placed in a sunny location. Only after a few hours or days does the print become clearly visible.
FLORACHROMES
This project features monochrome colour blocks that allow the viewer to experience nature in its purest form. During the process of pressing petals, the colour changes, sometimes dramatically. The petals are pressed with a little water and strained through gauze. The liquid is then applied to the paper repeatedly with a brush. This series of monochrome flower colour blocks allows the viewer to see flowers from a different perspective.
