More than 60% of the global flower trade passes through Dutch flower auction. One third of the nine billion flowers traded annually, are roses. 

​

What is the true value of a rose? What does it reveal about us culturally, traditionally, and economically? 

 

This work explores how the rose, traditionally a symbol of love, has become a streamlined commercial product shaped by efficiency, aesthetics, durability, and profit. In the ease of our consumption, we often overlook the origins of products and their impact on the environment and labour. The rose has become a mass-produced commodity which disconnects it from both its natural origins and symbolic context.

 

The project includes a series of photographs and a video installation, in which I examine themes like commercialization, economic infrastructures and cultural significance.

 

This work is one chapter of a larger ongoing research project.