Orchis: from Greek "testicle"
2020
Soft felt, paper, iron, plastic
15x15 cm
The word orchid derives from the Greek "Orchis" , which means "testicles", a name given by botanists for the similarity of the roots and buds of the plant with the male genitals.
In the symbolism of flowers, the orchid is associated with femininity, and I find it interesting that the forms of the flower resemble the female organs instead.
I find it a metaphor of how we all possess both male and female characteristics, and that it is us who force our personalities to reenter one or the other, while the orchid seems to show us that we can be both.
Personally I have never felt "female" in accepting the term that is socially imposed, but I have always felt in me characteristics that we are used to considering "male", such as certain unconventionally female interests or certain attitudes.
In this work the orchid, which was born ideally from a "testicle", makes new buds bloom inside her, a metaphor for this fluidity of characters associated with the genres that in my opinion characterizes all people. And there is nothing wrong with this.