Oil, emulsion, paint pens and spray paint on canvas in wood box frame.

40x30cm

Here we see a levitating ranunculus… but what do we think of when we think of flowers? Decoration, romance, innocence – but they can also be medicine and poison, givers of life and death in our ecosystem. We give them as gifts to celebrate and commiserate, eat them in restaurants, throw them at weddings and study them in art and science.

As a painter, my challenge here is to take something that on the surface is just seen as attractive and pull it apart to reveal its weirdness – for it is here we find the truth. In art we can remind ourselves that weirdness isn’t bad, but the definition of life itself.

Duke Mitchell

This painting details the supernatural phenomena in which a ranunculus flower has evolved to levitate in order to evade animals like slugs and snails, yet remain accessible to airborne pollinators. This evolution also gives the plant the ability to absorb water from a variety of different sources. Whilst levitating above a water it slowly lowers itself until its roots are submerged at which point it can take on liquid. It should be noted that this behaviour has not been limited to water, as reported by patrons of several pub gardens who left drinks unattended (an act that has become known as a ”ranunc-a-dunk” by amused onlookers).