Growing up in the second most flower-diverse country in the world, I was surrounded by the constant presence of blooms—their colors and fragrances a natural, year-round part of my everyday life.
Flowers were not an exception but a condition of existence.
I witnessed my father cultivating, tending, and conversing with them; I saw how he built deep-rooted friendships through the shared act of exchanging plants, creating enduring bonds with rural women who gathered blossoms from the forests and gardens neighboring their homes.
From him, I inherited an early reverence for the complexity and beauty of nature.
As a family, we developed a loving language expressed through flowers: in their cultivation and in the rituals of their care.
Today, living in a country where the rhythm of the seasons grants flowers only a fleeting, exuberant presence, my relationship with them has transformed.
I have learned to observe their cycles: crocuses first, emerging from the steadfast grass like tiny bells; the splendor of cherry trees and magnolias; the vibrant ascension of tulips, followed by poppies, azaleas, clusters of camellias, roses, peonies, and hydrangeas preparing their display. The sequence continues with dahlias, echinacea, lavender, sunflowers, lilies, rose of Sharon (reminiscent of San Joaquins), zinnias, while indoors reside anthuriums, calla lilies, orchids, and many more whose names are still unknown to me.
Over time, I have documented these flowers and their locations, returning each year to reencounter them, to reaffirm a sense of place and recognition.
Upon arrival in this new territory, plants—and above all, flowers—became my link to home, my family, and my father.
It is for this reason that I rescue abandoned plants from the streets and care for them, nurturing them with affection. In return, they illuminate my days with their beauty, and I celebrate each new leaf, each bloom.
This ongoing act of collection forms the core of my artistic practice.
I collect flowers
Because they have always been bearers of feelings and embraces.
I collect flowers
Because they bring me closer to my homeland, their roots capable of connecting any place on the planet.
I collect flowers
Because they remind me of who I am and where I come from.
I collect flowers
Because in them I see my loved ones.
I collect flowers
Because I am a gatherer of treasures.