"Arrangements," on-going since 2018

An evolving series of compositions using flowers, plants, branches, as well as diverse non-botanical materials: metal, leather, rubber, electrical cable, fabric, musical instruments, and human bodies. The arrangements are ephemeral, sometimes lasting only a few moments before they collapse. Arrangements displayed as sculptural works in exhibition spaces are in constant states of becoming, and require watering and the regular replenishment of perishable materials. This ephemerality foregrounds the performative, time-based aspect of work with flowers. The resulting pieces are therefore not merely material assemblages, but also traces of the gestures and affects of acts of arranging, contributing to Nemer’s ongoing fascination with feelings, transhistorical touch, and the poetics of relation.

The majority of the Arrangements are studio creations whose final form are photographs. Gallery exhibitions, as well as performative flower arranging actions have taken place at the Schwules Museum, Berlin; LifeSpace, Dundee; the Fruitmarket Gallery, Edinburgh; Cobalt, Newcastle; and ZEIT Gallery, Antwerp; and Fondation Fiminco, Paris. More information about the Arrangements — as well as Nemer’s large body of work involving flowers and floral cultures — can be found at www.nemerofsky.ca/flowers.