Hollingsworth Studio
In grand installations evocative of a Renaissance painting, florist Vivien Hollingsworth uses the temporality of flowers, inspired by fine art practices.
Words: Emma-Kate Wilson | Photography: Kat Soutar & Scout Kozakiewicz
Formerly known as Flos Botanical Studio, Melbourne-based Vivien Hollingsworth takes her floral art studio in a new direction with Hollingsworth Studio — celebrating the “delicate, the unexpected and the brave”.
To construct their installations and arrangements, Hollingsworth Studio often likes to expand and challenge the brief in order to reflect seasonality. ‘We need to find a seasonal flower that works with the client’s brief (as we don't use imports), and sometimes that means the colour palette can change,’ Vivien shares. ‘For example, if you are getting married in October and then I will encourage you to use lilac as it is so stunning that time of year.’
Honouring the seasons, Vivien turns to locally grown blooms for her arrangements — such as fragrant garden roses and the multi-dimensionality of dahlias — inspired by her background in painting and art history. ‘In terms of aesthetics/ compositions, I am really drawn to the Dutch masters and their still lifes,’ the florist reveals. ‘Impressionism, with the movement and fleeting moments captured in their work, resonated with me and working with flowers.’
Here she is able to emphasise the temporality of life, seasons, and flowers’ natural arrangement in their own cycles. Vivien also turns to site-specific work from artists such as Robert Smithson and Richard Serra, who push the florist to contemplate materiality and mediums.
The site-specific element to her installations is essential as the blooms. ‘Site-specific refers to works that remove all or a substantial part of its meaning if removed from that location,’ Vivien explains. ‘The fact that flowers die, or are impermanent, make anchoring them into space and time all the more important.’
‘I studied fine art before becoming a florist; I find drawing on both historical art and the contemporary work of my friends helps me keep pushing the boundaries of my craft,’ says Vivien Hollingsworth. Photo: It’s Beautiful Here
‘The fact that flowers die, or are impermanent, make anchoring them into space and time all the more important,’ says Vivien Hollingsworth. Photo: It’s Beautiful Here
‘Dahlias are essential to my design because of the wide breadth of colours they come in — colour palettes are the most critical design element in my work and being able to hit those nuanced hues is fundamental,’ says Vivien Hollingsworth. Photo: It’s Beautiful Here
“I want when people walk into a room to get a sensor of all the places these blooms have come from; I want my work to be a distilled version of nature.”
Photo: It’s Beautiful Here
Photo: It’s Beautiful Here
Flowering NOW (2019) — a floral exhibition dreamed up by florists Katie Marx + Cecilia Fox — was one show that revealed the intersection of fine art and flowers. Titled Roses of Heliogabalus, Vivien’s artwork references the painting and story of Heliogabalus.
‘The Roses of Heliogabalus is a recreation of the 1888 painting by the Anglo-Dutch artist Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema,’ the florist shares. ‘The scene depicted in this painting is of the Roman emperor Elagabalus, also known as Heliogabalus. Alma-Tadema paints Elagabalus smothering his unsuspecting guests with rose petals released from a false ceiling.’
Vivien invited the audience to immerse themselves within the installation — entering the paintings — and allowing the sensation of being “swept up in the movement.” ‘We used hundreds of camelia dipped in wax to help preserve the colour and emphasise the painterly feel in the work,’ she adds. ‘Many of the flowers were individually wired, with all the mechanic exposed. I didn’t want to hide how we made it but rather draw in the viewer.’
Sometimes a favourite flower or design can be for reasons beyond their appearance; by, perhaps, the smell or love poured into the growing or a memory that they signify. Vivien’s wedding is one that stands out as she was able to unite her passion with her family. ‘Dave and I picked the date because of the flowers, and we had all the colour, and all the flowers and I made a giant bouquet for myself,’ she fondly remembers.
After a challenging 2020, the future is bright with exciting projects unfolding in 2021. Hollingsworth Studio set themselves apart from your regular florists — providing both art and florals to fulfil all the senses.
‘My wedding was just a joy – we got married in my studio we used to live above, and it really felt like all the loves of my life were in my flowery world,’ says Vivien Hollingsworth. Photo: It’s Beautiful Here