Here is a quotation from a text by Denis Lessard which accompanied Offering, an exhibition of Rasmus’ work at Gallery TPW (Toronto Photographers Workshop) in 1999:
“Flowers often are a disconcerting and disdained subject in contemporary art because of their association with prettiness and sentimentality. But there is an uneasiness in David Rasmus’ images, due to the magnified size of the flowers, their heightened ephemeral nature and the technical limitations of the camera. And yet there is inescapable beauty, which can also be richly unsettling. These photographs are about offering flowers, rather than documenting flowers. Any purpose of accurate documentation is denied by the photographic technique employed by the artist: a plain instamatic camera with a flash. Obviously, the apparatus does not matter here. Or, rather, its disarming simplicity becomes the message: the tool remains a tool, it is a mere point of departure. In this world, beauty is never quite perfect, and there is no perfect offering either. In David Rasmus’ work, imperfections are willingly provided by the photographic technology in use, and by the changing nature of flowers. They are imperfections with a purpose.” – Denis Lessard, excerpt from Offering catalogue, Gallery TPW, Toronto, 1999
Image Credit: Courtesy the artist
