Almost All the Flowers in My Mother’s Garden by Hilla Kurki
Hilla Kurki, photo by Iina Esko
Almost All the Flowers in my Mother’s Garden was selected among the Most Beautiful Books of 2022 by The Finnish Book Art Committee.
“This book was one of the jury’s biggest favourites.”
“A breath-taking dustcover envelops this treasure of a book.”
“The miniature printing on the open spine is astounding, and the blind impression on the cover is a beautiful printing job.”
By Hilla Kurki
Almost All the Flowers in My Mother’s Garden is a 144-page work containing more than 100 pictures of flowers, mainly photographed in the author’s mother’s garden, and intimate memories of mothers by anonymous daughters. In the book the memories are merged together, and thus do not personify in one specific mother, making even painful memories easier to encounter. The flowers in the pictures symbolize the care, or the lack of it, that forms the basis of our growth.
The background of the work is the artist Hilla Kurki’s realization of the silent gap between herself and her mother. In conversations with other artists of her generation, many recognized something similar about their own relationship with their mothers. In the book the collected memories form a text, that alternates with the flowers, where artist from e.g. Finland, France, Slovenia and Hungary try to remember their mothers.
By Hilla Kurki
In the summer of 2018, I noticed I was feeling jealous of my mother’s garden. The attention and the touch she gave it felt excessive, something very alien to me. I started to view the flowers as individuals, beings competing with me for my mother’s attention. This ridiculous reaction got me reflecting on our relationship more closely. At first, I felt enormous guilt about the memories that came to mind. I knew my mom had done the best she could, and still I could mostly recall very painful things.
—Hilla Kurki
Hilla Kurki (b. 1985) describes her artistic practice as pragmatic exorcism. Kurki follows a long history of female artists who renegotiate the past through self-reflection and re-evaluation of their families’ relationships. Her work deals with the themes of loss, mother-daughter relationships and voluntary childlessness.
Kurki has exhibited in various international venues and art fairs since 2016. Her work was selected for Elles X Paris Photo in 2018, showcasing the history and future of female photographers. She was awarded the Prix Nature Morte at the Hyères International Festival 2019. Kurki has graduated with Master of Arts from Aalto University's School of Arts and Design in 2018. She lives and works in Helsinki, Finland.
