Orchids are a family of plants that include over 20,000 species that grow on every continent except Antarctica. In the wild each species grows in very specific places as they require certain combinations of soil, fungi, mold, etc. to provide the ideal habitat. They do not transplant well as recreating and maintaining these conditions is difficult. Some tropical orchids are readily propagated and sold as houseplants but anyone who has tried their hand at growing them know they need special care in order to thrive.

In the series Reflection I have created bronze lady slippers that inhabit mirrored dressing tables. The three types of lady slippers are members of the orchid family and grow in western Newfoundland. The common name lady slipper is a rough translation of the Greek genus cypripedium, which means foot of the Cypriot one, who is Aphrodite (Venus). In the natural world lady slippers have a very specific habitat, but once they are transformed as both subject and object into bronze sculptures their habitat becomes the base. In this case the bases are constructed mirrored dressing tables on which each flower faces the mirror so the only way the viewer can easily see the front of each flower is through its reflection.

Reflection: Yellow Ladyslipper, 2010. 162 x 36 x 31 cm, birch, bronze, mirror

Reflection: Pink Ladyslipper, 2010. 130 x 73 x 49 cm, aspen, bronze, mirror

Reflection: Showy Ladyslipper, 2010. 169 x 70 x 40 cm, maple, bronze, mirror

Photos: Morrow Scot-Brown, Pierre LeBlanc