2019, Of sampaguita, ilang-ilang, collaborative exhibition by Lesley-Anne Cao, MJ Flamiano and Czar Kristoff. 

This exhibition contains narrations on and reinterpretations of the sampaguita garland; a common object and industry found throughout the Philippines. It is made with the country’s national flower, sometimes with ilang-ilang or camia, and comes in a variety of designs depending on the area and season.

In fine white thread, the flowers are strung together to create fragrant garlands with practical and spiritual functions. They are sold in front of churches, or peddled to people in transit, hung over rear-view mirrors as natural air fresheners or used to decorate religious statues and altars in churches and homes.

Working remotely from their locations in Metro Manila, Melbourne and Laguna, the artists look into the nature of flora as ubiquitous in each setting, how some are glorified or exoticised, and how value shifts along these transpositions. The works examine the materiality of symbols, and how meaning changes as the sampaguita and ilang-ilang are carried from place to place.

Photos by Aaron Christopher Rees and Jacqui Shelton.

Read the exhibition review by Olivia Koh in Art + Australia Online here