「花擁有一種讓人快樂的能量，即使它凋謝了、變成乾花或被染了色，它都散發著一種獨有的美態，這就是人和自然的連結吧。」The Spring is Here的花藝師Cherie說，她和花一起工作了五、六年，過程縱有辛苦的時候，但她仍然是快樂的。光是純粹地看著花，便能讓心情變好，這大概是花的魔力吧。
“Flowers have this amazing power to make people happy. Even if they are wilted, dried, or dyed, they always have their own and unique beauty. They connect people with nature.” Cherie, a floral artist from The Spring is Here, has been in the profession for almost six years. Being a floral artist is no easy job, but Cherie enjoys it due to the magic of flowers — simply looking at flowers can bring a person joy.
花不止於觀賞，它還是一個媒介，讓我們探索光、影、世界。早前Cherie跟三位花藝師（VAUDEVILLE AND BURLESQUE、HOI2ZI2、THE FLORAL FLOWERIST）一起舉辦了展覽《花映》，探索花的可能性，讓觀眾對花多一點想像。「花可以是一種媒介，呈現不同的藝術形式。我們不想做一些很典型的東西，所以我們想到以「影」作為花的伸延，後來取了「影像」中的「影」為主題，希望為觀眾帶來視覺上的衝擊。」在展覽裡，花不過是配角，光與影才是主體。「這是一場具實驗性的嘗試，我們想從中發掘一些花的可能性。」Cherie說由構思、籌備、實行，都是四人一起合作完成的，平面設計則由好友Dailygood Studio負責；短短兩星期的展期，Cherie說只想認真地玩。「我們一直都很想合辦展覽，直至其中一位花藝師說七月要移民了，所以趕在她臨走前完成這件事。」在忽明忽暗、不同顏色的燈光下，花的影子被放大、投射的影像與花重疊，或是從水裡走出來。見花不是花，一起重新想像花的形態。
Of course, flowers are not merely for viewing; they also serve as a medium for the exploration of light, shadows, and the world. Recently, Cherie and three other floral artists （VAUDEVILLE AND BURLESQUE、HOI2ZI2、THE FLORAL FLOWERIST）held an exhibition called Through the Shades of Flowers, where the various possibilities and imaginative arrangements of flowers were explored. “Flowers serve as a medium for different art forms. We don’t want to do something obvious. We were inspired by the idea of ‘shadow’ and decided that our exhibition should center around it. We hope to bring a visual impact to our audiences. Flowers play a supporting role in the exhibition; it’s the light and shadow they produce that are the main subjects. “This is an experimental trial. We want to explore the new possibilities of flowers.” Cherie said that she and the other three artists worked closely together to conceptualize, prepare, and implement the exhibition, while their friend, Dailygood Studio, was commissioned to do the graphic design. Cherie was on a mission to have some real fun during the two-week exhibition. “The four of us have always wanted to co-organize an exhibition. It wasn’t until one of us decided to move overseas in July that we thought it’s time to make it happen.” Under flickering lights of various colors, the shadows of flowers are magnified, and the projected images and flowers are imbricated. Viewers are given the chance to reimagine the various forms of flowers.
Cherie sees this kind of experimental exhibition as a kind of advancement. Flowers are more than just a beautiful bouquet. “Compared with foreign countries, the floral artists in Hong Kong focus more on the commercial side. I want to keep trying new things in my own way. A while back, I created an exhibition titled, Flowers are Silent Music, for the restaurant Four Bites. I consider flowers as music, and I use them to fill the space. The exhibition title is actually a quote from the poem, ‘Flowers and Fruits’, by the Taiwanese poet Yang Huan. It says, ‘Flowers are silent music, and fruits are the most heart-warming book.’ My floral artworks for the exhibition sprouted from this poem while, at the same time, complement the restaurant menu. Flowers and music share something in common for both of them can change the atmosphere of their surroundings. I want my work to be more relevant to daily life, so I filled a transparent inflatable sofa with both preserved and dried flowers. The sofa, in a sense, was a representation of the living room where people feel at ease. Besides the sofa, I also used preserved and dried flowers to fill up some mini cubes. Those are available for sale, but at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter whether people actually buy them. I just hope they can make the exhibition more complete as a whole.”
Flowers can change the atmosphere of their surroundings. Even a place like the tenement house can turn into a romantic, elegant, and visually pleasing dwelling with the presence of flowers. “I often imagine myself as a plant and think of how I will grow at a certain location. For example, I’d think of how certain flowers and plants would grow in a deserted place and eventually spread across and take over the area. With such imagination, I manage to create works that are cordial and pleasing.” Cherie used to consider herself a controlling person, but the uncertainties that are associated with flowers captured her heart. “How flowers grow is beyond humans’ control. In that sense, unboxing flowers is like taking a gamble — you will never know how the flowers will turn out until you open the box. Floral artists need to be flexible because, with all the uncertainties that are beyond control, they just have to follow their hearts and get comfortable with experimenting with the flowers at their most natural state and form. It can be a tough and challenging job with tremendous pressure, but I get a huge sense of satisfaction once the job is done.” Cherie joked that most people think of floristry as an elegant and pleasant profession, but the fact is that it’s a labouring work.
Installation for AESOP Rōzu
沒有精心的安排、像隨心紮起的花束，就如The Spring is Here，走著走著便來到今天。「我從來沒有想過做花藝師，因為媽媽是開店賣花膠的關係，以往只想過開一間糧油雜貨店，充滿現代感的設計，而門口的位置是賣花的。媽媽的店名裡有一個『泉』字，所以我也取名『Spring』，當時想，若是賣花的話，叫作The Spring is Here也不錯。後來雜貨店沒有開成，這個賣花的品牌卻一直走下去。」Cherie說她並沒有很長遠的計劃，只想做些非主流的東西，還有繼續探索花的可能性。「下個月能否自由地出門也不知道呢，會不會終有一天我也要離開身處的這片土地？世界太多未知，現在的我能夠做到喜歡的事，而且能靠它糊口就足夠了。The Spring is Here的出現是意料之外的事情，走到今天實在是不可思議，我還求些甚麼呢？」Cherie笑說。
Cherie runs The Spring is Here without much planning. She just follows her heart — as if tying a free-flowing bouquet. “I never thought of becoming a florist. My mom owns a shop selling fish maws, so I had this dream of opening a grocery store myself. I thought of the grocery having a modern design, and that I’d run a little florist at the entrance. There is the word ‘spring’ in the name of my mom’s shop. So I’ve decided to use ‘spring’ for my own shop as well. That’s where the name, The Spring is Here, came from. Though the grocery store never happened, the floristry did come to fruition and will continue to run.” Cherie said she doesn’t have any long-term plans. She wishes to do something beyond the mainstream and continue to explore the possibilities of flowers. “I can’t even tell if we can be out and about freely next month. Will I leave this city one day? There are too many unknowns. I just hope that I can do what I like and make a living out of it. The Spring is Here came as a surprise, and it is amazing that it comes all the way to this day. What else can I ask for?” Cherie said with a smile.
