Orchidelirium was a term coined in the Victorian era, when the desire for discovering and collecting Orchids reached fevered levels. A craze initially started by wealthy Europeans; who sent out 'Orchid hunters' to far flung, often inhospitable places, in search of new and rare specimens.

 

Highly desired for their exotic forms and colours, orchids are the most successful and prolific of flowering plants in the world - able to mutate and hybridize into dazzling and infinite variety of colours and designs. Darwin considered them the ultimate in evolutionary adaptability.

 

Since the late 1800's Orchids have been an intoxicating subject for botanical artists and Iike many before her, Kate is drawn to their mysterious and compelling aura. Enchanted as much by delicate native specimens as with their flamboyant tropical cousins observed in glasshouses – orchids have held a particular fascination for the artist since childhood. Intrigued by their extravagant forms and almost alien like structures, plus their mycorrhizal associations, the artist lets her imagination run whilst allowing the medium of lithographic ink washes chance to hybridize further, dancing a fine line between fragility and the grotesque.