Anne ten Donkelaar

Embroidered Archive

In 2011, I began my first series of "Flower Constructions". One of the very first works was acquired by Liset. Recognizing my fascination with preserving and conserving flowers, she gave me something truly special: her aunt Jo's herbarium, containing pressed plants dating from around 1900.

For many years, the herbarium had a place in my studio. In 2024, I created the "Cabinet of Lost & Found", incorporating a small detail from aunt Jo's herbarium. When Liset recognized it, she asked if I would create a commissioned work using one of the plants from the collection.

My eye was drawn to a branch of golden laburnum. A flower that had once been given to aunt Jo and carefully preserved by her. Rather than using the original flower itself, I reinterpreted it by embroidering it with gold thread and archiving it once again. In doing so, this fragile memory was given a new form.

It did not end with a single work. As I continued to leaf through the herbarium, I found myself inspired by more and more of its plants. Every leaf, flower, and stem seemed to hold its own story. Gradually, a new series emerged, in which the flowers from the herbarium were translated into embroidered works and allowed to bloom once more.

Just as I once received the herbarium as a gift, I now have the opportunity to give something back. A new work and eventually an entire series, born from the same love of preserving nature.