BLOOM
armor of flowers
The garden in which I live was not a choice. It flowered with no consultation nor warning. From my own nature sprouted branches, flowers and fruit that, at first, covered me with fear. After all, how can one explain a garden growing and flowering on my body? In a world of beings with swords between their teeth, to be covered in life provokes astonishment and suspicion. An inevitable and transforming movement stirred in many people.
It did not depend on race, colour, gender, age or faith. It was not caused by fungus, viruses, bacteria. Not even the walls constructed around nations were capable of halting the dissemination of various species such as dahlias, chrysanthemums, cockscombs, goldenrods, pinocchios, lilies, orchids, croton, privet, cow’s udder, photinias, barberries. Flowers, shrubs and even trees germinate in a splendorous way, creating a new ecosystem on our skin. Species from the hot and humid planes, the dense backwoods and the coastal forest no longer surrendered to the soil and climate. A meeting, impossible for millennia, celebrating the beauty of diversity.
Yes, there is life. Not the one idealized by announcements of primitive drives to generate clicks and consumption, but the one with profound roots, which resists. Survives storms. Our bodies are fertile and full of metaphors, in need of light. From my pacific seed, I create my armor. From my self-knowledge, I make my shield. I harness my forces. I do not expect others to see the life that sprouts in me. But in my own way, I carry on seeing the beauty that exists in you.
And with it, I transform my world. Searching peace.
Styling Lucius Vilar photos Rogério Cavalcanti text Alexandre Ferreira photo assistant Flavio Boaventura assistant Adriana Comparini hair and makeup Raul Melo image treatment Iung Studio models Ariane Norbel, Felipe Rocha, Kessi Mattos, Rene Maximo and Vitor Soratto thanks to Fazenda Vassoural