Self-Directed Project 2 - Fleurs du Mal

After deciding against my initial project idea, I chose instead to create work based on / inspired by the poetry of the French 19th Century writer, Charles Baudelaire. Specifically, I focused on the collection entitled Les Fleurs du Mal (The Flowers of Evil). The predominant themes of the poems were Sex and Death, which made them highly controversial at the time of release- some were even banned from publication for some time, as a result of 'creating an offence against public morals'. The poems are often complex even in their own language, and it is sometimes necessary to read multiple translations of one text to grasp the meaning behind it, though their emphasis on sense of atmosphere and feeling are interesting and challenging to work with. Wikipedia summarises the works succinctly in describing how 'He also touched upon lesbianism, sacred and profane love, metamorphosis, melancholy, the corruption of the city, lost innocence, the oppressiveness of living, and wine. Notable in some poems is Baudelaire's use of imagery of the sense of smell and of fragrances, which is used to evoke feelings of nostalgia and past intimacy.'

I began by reading through the poems, the themes referred to above becoming apparent from the start. A common visual referred to throughout the works is the heart- the word appears over 50 times in the collection. I decided to use watercolour paints, as colour is integral to the nature of the source material. The following show the first piece in progress:

After completion, I decided to incorporate a visual representation of the perfumes and scents frequently described by Baudelaire. 

The watercolours lent themselves well to the effect, though after some feedback I decided to work over the initial cloudy plumes to look more like the desired result, something that in reality of course cannot be seen, but is often depicted in a recognisable way.

The faded colours of the perfume are intended to evoke the sense of nostalgia conjured in the writing, the colours also inspired by the shades you might see in dying flowers.