If you’re looking for something to do to close out your summer, I highly recommend the exhibition, Flowers – Flora in Contemporary Art and Culture. The exhibition is currently on view at Saatchi Gallery and it has been extended through 31st of August. You will be blown away by both the scale and detail of the exhibits especially, Rebecca Louise Law’s hanging flower installation pictured above. Spanning two floors of the gallery, each room explores different themes and medias of flora expression. You’ll find paintings, sculptures, fashion, photography, literatures and music album covers just to name a few of the items on display. The art pieces serve as a reminder of how frequently flowers appear in popular culture, often symbolizing themes such as love, beauty, fragility, and remembrance.
The highlights for me were two outstanding exhibits: the fashion design room featuring works by the incomparable Vivienne Westwood, and Rebecca Louise Law’s ephemeral installation of dried flowers. In Westwood’s designs, flowers embellish otherwise plain garments in bold, saturated hues—deep reds, oranges, and yellows. These floral accents appear on brown pantsuits, long flowing dresses, and shirts embroidered with prints cascading on whimsical sleeves. Her interpretation of flora evokes a spirit of individualism, fearlessness, and risk. To wear Westwood’s designs is to take a confident stride into a world often defined by uniformity.
If Westwood’s embrace of flowers is a statement on individual empowerment, then Rebecca Louise Law’s grand sculpture installation of dried flowers speaks to a universal fragility. The hanging work comprises of delicate dahlias in light pinks, yellows, and whites. They hang alongside vibrant cornflowers and irises in shades of purple and yellow. They are all held together by glistening copper wires. As the installation sways and shimmers, you experience the beauty and awe of the structure. Despite its fragility, the dried flowers are surprisingly sturdy. Law says her art addresses socio-economic issues of overconsumption and waste. She aims to show that flowers—with their short lifespan and disposability—can still have a meaningful role in our world. Their fragility and beauty mirror all of nature’s vulnerability. Through this installation, Law is showing that with meticulous care of these natural materials we can all deepen our connection to the environment around us. We can see value and reimagine a new purpose for things that might be considered waste.
The above design by Vivienne Westwood is a highlight of the exhibition. Flowers- Flora in Contemporary Art and Culture can be seen at Saatchi Gallery, London, thru 9th of September 2025.
by. Lydia K Levy
