Morphée © Axel Korban et Sofia Chalaguina

 

Description

“I thought that this plant flourished in the East, on the foothills of the Himalayas or in Turkey and what was not my surprise, to discover a few feet at the bend of a path in the Provençal countryside. This pale pink poppy with slightly purplish tones blooms only a week, to give way to a bulb with a small crown. To contemplate it was for me a way to meet mythology. This beautiful flower with delicate colors seemed to me ambivalent, full of sun and summer scent but also carrier of darkness, dangerous and forbidden, since opium is its sap. I had to pay tribute to him. One summer, I harvested these capsules and then gilded them with gold leaf and made these miniature sculptures. This gesture is a way to perpetuate the greatness of this flower, to illustrate how it was idolized during antiquity, and how despite its grace and fragility, it remains endowed with a scary power. Of these sculptures, I made a pendant with limited edition of 50 copies, a unique and exclusive edition that I look forward to discovering you today. ”

Lionel Estève, the artist’s words