Buck is an oshibana piece created from dried flowers and preserved plant material arranged into the silhouette of a deer. Through the practice of botanical preservation, I am interested in how memory changes form without disappearing. Flowers wilt, seasons shift, and bodies transform, yet traces remain.
Buck invites viewers to consider what we choose to preserve, what we carry forward, and how belonging is shaped through connection rather than ownership.
The deer emerged for me as a symbol of tenderness, alertness, and relationship. It moves through landscapes shaped by both beauty and disruption, adapting to changing conditions while remaining connected to the ecosystems that sustain it. Constructing the piece from preserved plants felt important because the materials themselves carry histories of growth, loss, care, and return.
Sign up for our free newsletters
Subscribe to NPQ's newsletters to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.
By signing up, you agree to our privacy policy and terms of use, and to receive messages from NPQ and our partners.
For me, the story of “America” is also a story about our relationships to land, memory, and one another. It is a story that existed long before national borders and continues beyond them. Buck invites viewers to consider what we choose to preserve, what we carry forward, and how belonging is shaped through connection rather than ownership.
This piece honors transformation as an ongoing process. It reminds me that even after a bloom has passed, something of its beauty, memory, and possibility remains.
