The Flora Mnemonica series is an ongoing personal catalog of plant specimens as a way to think about friends and family during this time of social separation. Most of the plants are found in the artist’s garden or on walks through nearby Patapsco Park and are sampled specifically because they are linked to a memory or story from a close family member or friend. Many times, the plants themselves were given as starts or seeds from friends’ gardens. Originally intended to be shared via social media, they have become invitations for others to talk about personal memories or associations with particular plants and flowers while the images themselves offer a moment to consider the plants themselves in greater detail.
Melissa Penley Cormier 