Orchidelirium 1
By Carine Thevenau
Artist Bio
Carine Thévenau is a professional artist, photographer, and arts educator at Murdoch University and TAFE NSW. Her photographic practice examines social and cultural identity through portraits of place, community, and individuals. She values photography's ability to reveal narratives and amplify visibility within societies and is passionate about sustainability.
 
 Carine exhibited her first co-published photobook at the Tokyo Art Book Fair, Sydney Design Week, Singapore International Photography Festival and PhotoFairs, Shanghai China. The book was shortlisted as a finalist for the Cornish Family Prize in Art & Design Publishing at the NGV, Melbourne and the Photobook Awards at the Singapore International Photography Festival.
 
 Carine has had numerous solo shows accross nationally and internationally. Her work has been published in Wallpaper Magazine (UK), iD Magazine (UK), Vogue Magazine (AU), Assemble Paper (AU, Milk Magazine (FR), C41 Magazine (IT), Shift Magazine (JP) and many more.
Artist Statement / Description of artwork
“Orchidelirium” explores the amorous history of the orchid. The associations are evident within the family name “Orchis” which in ancient Greek, translates as “testicle”, whilst the flower has also been a symbol of the feminine. Physiologically the flowering plant contains both male and female reproductive organs. 
 
 The astonishing beauty of the flower caused a flurry of excitement during the enlightenment where collectors scoured the globe seeking out orchids in a frenzied rush, known as orchidelirium or orchid fever. British Poet, Botanist, Philosopher and Naturalist, Erasmus Darwin, who wrote The Temple of Nature in 1802, anthropomorphised the orchid as a female seductress. This was during a time when society broadly dismissed female sexual desire.
 
 Later, British Writer, Virginia Woolfe, rejects the orchid's association with femininity and describes them as symbols of privilege. In 1915 Virginia wrote that she would be able to “hide amongst the vast pyramid of orchids and peaches”, in response an invitation to attend a lavish aristocratic party. This insinuated that such a host would have the wealth to acquire such sought after living organisms. 
 
 Did the orchid instigate societal progress on female sexuality, beyond the garden, or was the orchid weaponised as a symbol of misogyny, whereby men of means collected and displayed their collections, the flowers representing the owners own virility?
 
 Carine has photographed and hand-painted orchids reminiscent of Walt Disney’s film Fantasia (1940), and specifically “Waltz of the flowers”, where flying fairies ignite the blooms into a fizz of pure delight. She has emphasized the colour and form of the flower, the elements that prompted orchid fever during the late 19th century.