This series of photos was inspired by two different quotes attributed to the famous Persian theologist and poet Djalāl ad-Dīn or Rûmî. They were taken in the Tropical House of the Botanic Garden in Strasbourg. It is one of my preferred places in Strasbourg, to visit and to photograph. I use to go there, when I’m feeling sad, overwhelmed or simply bored. And spending some time there, surrounded by this green, moist, tropical richness, brightens me always up.

I made these photos in May or in June in 2023 and it was a one day project. I was quite happy during this period of my life and it apported some hopeful dynamic vitality in the chosen images. Sometimes it added even a little touch of kitsch. It should, there is something disgusting in happiness, too. And when speaking of kitsch - hasn’t Rûmî become nowadays kitsch, too?

I wanted to the series to please the spectator. But I wanted to keep them simple, too. It didn’t quite work out, I admit it. And then I discovered the messiness, the flaws. Is it bad, I asked myself? Should I blend it out? How to control the chaos? Should I? Can it be beautiful? Or interesting?

I am still looking, of course. But it was one of the first projects when I started to ask myself these questions. What is the constructed reality of my imagined artificial natural landscapes?