By Jeanne Tan / 17-09-2008

You are what your bouquet is.

One can't help but be seduced and overwhelmed by all those gorgeous flowers at the Double Dutch installation, happening as part of the 2008 London Design Festival. And it's not a collection of just your average gerberas, sunflowers or carnations, but a sensuous combination of provocative blooms in all shapes, textures and colours. Flowers have never been sexier.

Organised by The Flower Council of Holland and curated by Jane Withers, the week-long guerilla installation explores 'how flowers can evoke emotions and conjure desire'. The exhibition has been created in collaboration with two design partnerships each of whom dealt with a separate theme.

'Appetites' is a floral feast created by Lisa White and Graham Hollick, whereby long dining tables are embedded with a luscious combination of living plants, cut flowers and exotic vegetables and fruit. In and amongst the feast, carnivorous plants readily gorge on unsuspecting insects.

'Emotions' is a series of five bouquets by Dutch designers Niels van Eijk and Miriam van der Lubbe representing different emotions: sympathy, love, happiness, anger, and jealousy. A highlight is the bouquet of anger, a spiky, grim collection of prickly flowers and leaves that says 'I hate you' in the nicest possible way. Van Eijk and van der Lubbe have previously collaborated with the Flower Council of Holland on numerous projects including their high profile installations in Milan during the Salone del Mobile.

Photography: Josh van Gelder

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