The withered flower was captured on a smartphone and presented in situ, simple and unadorned. "A Flower Is Not A Flower" is a poem from Ba Juyi (白居易), one of the most prolific chinese poet of Tang Dynasty:
Flower, no flower. Mist, no mist.
Night comes and daylight departs.
It comes like spring daydreams, ever fleeting and
leaves like haze at dawn, nowhere to be found.
It comes like spring daydreams, ever fleeting and
leaves like haze at dawn, nowhere to be found.
花非花，霧非霧。
夜半來，天明去。
來如春夢幾多時， 去似朝雲無覓處。
來如春夢幾多時， 去似朝雲無覓處。
The poem is implicit, metaphors and analogies are used to provide context. While the true meaning remains unstated and mystical, its lyrical expression is ephemeral, beautiful but unreal. Many of his odes were inspired by flowers, often used to insinuate a beauty or a lover.
The poster pays homage to Nobuyoshi Araki's "Flower", as Japan's most prolific photographer, the 1000 flowers he had presented symbolize life and death, in memory of his wife on her birthday. As a footnote, the chinese characters of the poster reads "Happy Birthday" as a private dedication to a loved one.
by iPhone
TOJ / LVN / 2012
