POST FLORUM

"The Post Florum project serves as a reminder of the unconditional value of human life through the lens of grief. An awareness of grief — both personal and collective — is a key factor in understanding our shared vulnerability and interconnectedness. The central image of the project is a fallen, trampled and disintegrating flower. A small plant, fragile enough to be easily broken and destroyed, unnoticed as it blends with the dust of the earth, becomes a symbol of a painful loss. In each work, it acts like a metronome, repeating the idea of the necessity to acknowledge vulnerability and the fragility of life.

The project is grounded in Judith Butler’s ideas from her work Precarious Life: The Powers of Mourning and Violence, where grief is considered not merely an emotion, but a phenomenon revealing our deep vulnerability and radical interconnectedness with others. We are vulnerable because we love, because we form attachments, and this vulnerability is a fundamental condition of our existence. It is precisely through these connections that we find the fullness of life, and their loss — whether through death or separation — strikes at the core of our sense of self. However, grief is not limited to individual experience. Butler emphasizes that what and whom we grieve has profound social implications. She distinguishes between “grievable” and “ungrievable” lives. The former elicits public mourning and is perceived as a significant loss. The latter often goes unnoticed, reduced to impersonal statistics in the news, and is, in essence, denied the recognition of a valuable life. In the public sphere, “ungrievable” lives often include those of migrants, war victims and marginalized groups. At first glance, the flowers in Post Florum appear similarly uniform, as if they were mere surface texture. And yet, each one is unique.

By employing the technique of manual analog printing, Lena Solovyeva intentionally varies the contrast and light intensity of each print. All the flowers share the same fragile melancholy, yet each differs in the nuances of its form. This vulnerable image is set within heavy, austere steel frames, giving the works a literal weight and strength, symbolizing both the resilience of life’s value and the significance of its loss.
Proceeds from the sale of the works will be directed to charitable funds, supporting those whose lives are most vulnerable and whose losses often go unseen."