Arvo Leo : the orchids / had the look of flowers that are looked at

Publication alongside exhibition.
Each species of orchid has cunningly evolved its appearance, and its fragrance, to attract a specific pollinator to aid in sexual reproduction. Yet somehow they also attract us, and our encounters with them have shaped both botanical and human cultures. In Arvo Leo’s film The Orchids / Had the Look of Flowers That Are Looked At these flowering plants assert their agency in a human-centric world. Plants and films both need light and time to exist, and through stop-motion animation, cyanotype photography, and sculptural installation, orchids spring to life, meddling with the environment they’re constrained to; frolicking, creating, and destroying with self-determination and amusement.

The history of the orchid involves layers of colonialism, economic activity, and cultural beliefs that intersect centuries and continents. Arvo Leo has not only been engaged with these histories, but also with the everyday relationships between orchids and people, tending daily to the orchids in his studio, and actively participating as a member of the Nederlandse Orchideeën Vereniging (Dutch Orchid Society). Leo has also made connections in Nanaimo, and throughout the exhibition, living orchids will be in the foyer of the gallery through a special collaboration between the artist and the Central Vancouver Island Orchid Society.