“The wind is my nemesis!” says Jennifer Latour, and rightly so. In her sculptural assemblages, single flowers or small clusters of blooms sprout from tree branches or thick stems, appearing like otherworldly forms standing in the landscape. A soft breeze could topple the Vancouver-based artist’s ephemeral works, scattering their delicate petals and spindly shoots before she has the chance to snap a photo.
These fleeting moments are preserved in Latour’s Bound Species series, which she began during lockdown by piecing together objects found around her home into unconventional, ikebana-style compositions. “During this time, I started having a recurring dream of giant flowers growing around me with multiple species of other flowers growing off one stem. I draw a lot of inspiration from my dreams, and this was something I had to test out in real life,” she tells us.
After a few trials, the process clicked. She ideated on the ways different colors and shapes might puzzle together into a sort of hybrid character and envisioned photographing on location, presenting the unorthodox arrangements in stunning, natural settings. When travel became possible, she jumped at the opportunity to bring the sculptures outdoors. That’s when she encountered the wind. “I quickly discovered how much more difficult this was,” she says. “It takes so much more patience and time to make my sculptures out in the wild but all that much more satisfying when it works out!”
Today, Latour continues to venture outdoors and often sources materials from local garden centers, flower shops, and even the occasional grocery store, should the botanicals be locally grown. She assembles each piece by hand, connecting stem to stem in a way that evokes “the interconnectedness found in nature, and serves as a reminder that all creatures are bound simultaneously by both their similarities and their differences.”
With trips planned to Arizona and the U.K. seaside in the coming months, the artist will continue to transform colorful specimens into strange, mishmashed forms. “I dream of taking the work all around the world to the most remote and unique locations,” she adds. “It’s a practice I see myself continuing to create and evolve until either my hands or my body stop working.”
Latour’s images are currently on view in two group exhibitions—Where the Seasons Endure at Gallery COA in Montreal and The House and the Forest at Can Balaguer in Palma, Mallorca—and she’s also planning for a solo show in 2027. Keep up with her travels and projects on Instagram.
