ENTRY DESCRIPTION
Maidenhair Fern
The object is painstakingly hand made out of twist ties. It attempts to recreate one of the plant structures that was the subject of iconic photographs by the German artist/teacher Karl Blossfeldt in the 1920’s. The limits of working with such a humble material become the prime focus. The arrogance of attempting to imitate nature is shown in the subtle tension between perfection and imperfection.

AUTHOR
Elaine is a photographic artist based in London. She has exhibited internationally and has work in collections which include the V&A and The Museum of Fine Art in Houston. Her work is represented by Klompching Gallery in New York. Alongside making her own series of work for exhibition, she undertakes artist residencies and works alongside institutions such as Wellcome Collection to devise and deliver special projects. In late 2009 one of her images was flown to space by Astronaut Leland Melvin on the Space Shuttle Atlantis.

Elaine’s work takes a close look at objects. Things are never quite what they seem and her work is pared down to find singular beauty. Pale specimens glow in inky black spaces and appear to hang by a thread. There is strength and fragility, perfection and imperfection. Her work teases the viewer as images hover somewhere between quirkiness and elegance.

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