'Everything is linked in some manner, like the layers in petals or the lines in maps. Our identity and our culture is an intricate overlapping of many parts. The flower is a symbol of both femininity and cultural heritage. It can represent both a colonial past and a multicultural future. It is these layers I wish to explore.' Bianca Hendicott
Bianca Hendicott is a multidisciplinary artist whose work has centered on the ephemeral nature of light in physics and photosynthesis, along with a fascination for the botanical reproductive system and cultural botanical mapping. It consists of prints, film, poetry, sculpture and various other experimental multi-media works. Using flowers as symbols for colonial cultivation she explores the tense and dynamic colonial and post-colonial relationships that exist in her own heritage. Having grown up in South Africa and moving to the United Kingdom, she explores the ideas of diaspora and the importance of embracing layers of cultural identity through the national and colonial symbolism of flowers and traditional crafts. Other significant influences in the work include the idea of the Victorian garden, global capitalism as well as flesh: sensual and biologically sexual. Thus, for her, the flower takes on wider social paradigms and exposes alternative or forgotten cultural narratives. She is fascinated by cultures and figures which has triggered various commission requests for its originality and sensitivity to people, culture, flora and fauna.
Her more recent work explores cultural heritage and autobiography through textiles and illustrated poetry. Key themes in her recent work address issues such as race, culture, feminism, domestic abuse, relationships, the home and motherhood. She is interested in language – both visual/symbolic , written and oral. There is an overarching focus on colour and form in all her pieces which express dreamlike landscapes and even terrifying nightmares.
