Digital floristry: floral designer Flora Starkey celebrates the spring equinox with first art installation

The spring equinox in the Northern Hemisphere passes today at 16:15, ushering in the warmer months of 2018. To celebrate, floral designer Flora Starkey has created a digital installation film entitled Spring Rites, depicting the beauty and magic of flowers from seed to bloom.  

The immersive time-lapse video aims to bring together elements of fashion and modern art: rainbow prisms feature throughout and the emergence of flowers including snowdrops, hellebore and blossom is ethereally portrayed, accompanied by a poignant soundtrack.

It will be displayed on large screens in the St Christopher’s Place piazza in London from today until 25^th March, 10am until 8pm. 

“Spring Rites is in an acknowledgement of the changing seasons, and the sense of hope that comes with the equinox. The artwork is a visual reminder of the beauty that exists in the world and the restorative power of nature,"  explains Starkey.

This is the third year running that the Marylebone shopping destination has offered a spring showcase alongside the arrival of spring-summer fashion  in boutiques and springtime seasonal menus.

Starkey's display follows in the footsteps of much-admired installations by artists Rebecca Louise Law (2016) and Anna Garforth (2017), both also inspired by the natural world. 

But Spring Rites marks Starkey's first attempt at a digital artwork of this kind. As a designer, she is renowned for her striking floral arrangements for clients including Alexander McQueen, Stella McCartney and Vivienne Westwood, and often uses flowers and foliage she has grown herself.

Her arrangements, so often featured in fashion magazines, dressed the entrance of Chelsea Flower Show in honour of the Queen's 90th birthday, and have been displayed at the V&A, Tate Britain, Abbey Road Studios and St Paul's Cathedral. 

Starkey takes inspiration from a rich tapestry of traditions including that of the Dutch Masters, Renaissance artists, Victorian flower photographs and the English country garden.

She is considered to elevate floristry to an art form. " "She works with flowers as a Renaissance painter would work with oils," British Vogue has enthused. 

Starkey collaborated with a number of other creatives to bring her vision of Spring Rites to life, including Juliette Larthe, co-founder of visual think tank PRETTYBIRD.

Meanwhile, the BAFTA-nominated cameraman and photographer Robert Hollingworth brought an adeptness at capturing the secrets of the natural world on film, and director James Stopforth experimented with light spectrums and playful storytelling.

Visit stchristophersplace.com to find out more