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Which flower depleted the earth of it’s resources of fossil fuel? Carnation
Rene Ricard poses this simple question in flourishes of silver, picturing an ecological dystopia with sheer, carnation-hued washes. The significance of carnation could be as the blossom of a coal “plant”, or perhaps a purposefully abbreviated form of “reincarnation”: when our resources are exhausted, the possibility of spiritual or environmental rebirth ceases. The artist’s demand remains salient as discourse over non-renewable energy sources has intensified. What might Ricard have thought of the Anthropocene?
Which Flower 1990
Paint marker and gouache on stretched watercolor paper
17 × 17 in. / 43 x 43 cm | Frame 18.5 x 18.5 in. / 47 x 47 cm
