Duality - original painting

from the series: Souvenirs from faraway places I have never been

Anthurium is a hermaphroditic plant - it unites both male and female elements within the same inflorescence. In botany, such flowers are called PERFECT. In traditional Chinese medicine, practised for thousands of years, all things - both substances and processes — embody yin and yang qualities. Yin is feminine; yang is masculine.

The inner union of masculine and feminine aspects — whether of spirit or matter - has been contemplated for centuries. In A Room of One’s Own, Virginia Woolf asks, “whether there are two sexes in the mind corresponding to the two sexes in the body, and whether they must also be united to achieve complete satisfaction and happiness.”

Botanical background: Anthurium scherzerianum rothschildianum is native to the rainforests of Costa Rica. This rare variety features a spirally twisted spadix and a distinctive red-and-white spotted spathe. The colours are reversed on each side, emphasising the flower’s inherent duality.