Richard Orjis

A male figure faces the camera. He is heavily festooned with flowers – orchids mainly. Wet grey mud envelops his head. The vestment of orchids is beautiful, but with the mud-head the effect is unsettling. A single pink orchid forms a floral mouth and moustache, suggesting the possibility that the floral torso and head are organically joined. A tuber-like bloom stands in for a phallus. Does Flower Idol represent some kind of pagan fertility rite? The dictionary defines an idol as an image or representation of a god used as an object of worship.