Intrigued by the artistic phenomenon of ‘f lower paintings’, Meeuws utilises digital photography in a 21st century context, to create contemporary flower pieces in the way of modern Dutch masters like Ambrosius Bosschaert, Jan Brueghel, Jacob Marrel and Jacques de Gheyn: f lower by flower, layer by layer.

“The bouquets in the paintings were impossible constructions of flowers from different seasons. I want to pursue this element of the genre. It gives you the opportunity to work outside of time, to make time stand still. The comfort of photography, that’s how I like to see my still lifes,” explains Meeuws. Each flower is individually photographed to build a digital ‘flower library’ from which Meeuws selects a combination of flowers and foliage to create a unique arrangement. He adds: “I try to summon up the feelings in myself that the people looking at the picture then would have had. The awe that they must have felt for all the expensive and exotic flowers together.”

Mughal artists were noticeably influenced by European techniques, both in their rendition of f loral portraits or botanical studies, and in the f loral motifs often employed in the borders of manuscripts – as seen particularly in the imperial albums of emperors Jahangir and Shah Jahan. Meeuws’s new series, Mughal Botanicals and Mughal Still Lifes, created especially for this exhibition, are a contemporary reflection of a similar cross-fertilisation between eastern and western artistic traditions: inspired by f loral motifs seen in illuminated Mughal manuscripts and monuments, but employing the same techniques of representation as his Dutch works.

Spring in the Wintertime, in collaboration with Tasveer Art Gallery, 2018 | Press Release.