Plants + Flowers

'Flowering NOW' Blooms In Collingwood

‘There should be a place where only the things you want to happen, happen,’ said Max in the iconic children’s book, Where the Wild Things Are. For Melbourne floral enthusiasts, the Flowering NOW exhibition might just be that magical place.

Flowering NOW is an ephemeral exhibition of innovative and abundant floral installations from thirteen of the very best Melbourne florists. This weekend at the Collingwood Arts Precinct, the collective show explores the interplay of transience and longevity – radiant blooms are celebrated alongside the process of gentle decay.

Written
by
Miriam McGarry

The EPIC ‘Flowering Now’ on now at Collingwood Arts Precinct. Photo – Caitlin Mills for The Design Files.

The collaborative exhibition brings together some of Melbourne’s finest botanical artists. Photo – Caitlin Mills for The Design Files.

Melanie Stapleton (Cecilia Fox) and Katie Marx (Butterland) – the two friends have been considering a joint creative project for years! Photo – Caitlin Mills for The Design Files.

The two ‘wanted to create an immersive and contemporary flower environment’. Photo – Caitlin Mills for The Design Files.

The Collingwood exhibition is on this weekend only. Photo – Caitlin Mills for The Design Files.

The exhibition features innovative botanic artistry, using many unconventional materials. Photo – Caitlin Mills for The Design Files.

Talk about sensory overload! Photo – Caitlin Mills for The Design Files.

Writer
Miriam McGarry
27th of April 2018

Flowering NOW is the brainchild of superstar florists (and longtime TDF pals) Melanie Stapleton of Cecilia Fox and Katie Marx of Butterland.

The two friends have been considering a joint creative project for years, but when embarking on this event, soon realised that it was ‘bigger than just the two of us!’ Flowering NOW draws together a ridiculously delightful line-up of Melbourne based florists, united by their love of nature, and imaginative approaches to floral arts.

In addition to being a sensory overload of tactility, scent and visual delight, the Flowering NOW showcase seeks to create a collective and community-driven environment, which is about ‘sharing our work and our love of flowers and nature with the wider public.’ The exhibition creates a space for local florists to experiment with original ideas beyond a commercial brief, and explore their unique practices. ‘We see this as a chance to share amongst one another and a viewing public our different signature styles, to emphasise our capacity to forage, build, gather and grow flowers in a way that belies traditional understandings of floristry.’

The exhibition presents floristry as an avant-garde art form. You won’t find any still-life-like vases of flowers here – instead, floral scenes are realised as large-scale sculptural installations. Melanie and Katie ‘wanted to create an immersive and contemporary flower environment’ which is wildly abundant, and shows off the distinctive talents of the independent florists involved.

Historically, floristry is associated with festivities, celebration or memorial – marking an event, or time of transformation. Flowering NOW champions the flourishing contemporary floristry talent on offer in Melbourne, and Melanie and Katie are already planning an even bigger event for 2019. Flower power ahead!

Flowering NOW
April 27-29th
Friday 5-8pm
Saturday and Sunday 10am-4pm
Collingwood Arts Precinct
35 Johnston Street, Collingwood, Victoria

Entry to this ephemeral exhibition is by gold coin donation, with proceeds going to Australian charity Global Gardens of Peace.