Night Orchid 88

Brian Clarke’s monumental Night Orchids series of over 260 drawings on black card captures the flower in a constant state of transformation. Begun in 2013 following his trips to Thailand and France, Clarke’s Night Orchids anticipates the meditation-like practice employed in his later Vespers series. Produced at his home between 7pm and midnight, Clarke has described the practice of creating Night Orchids as “a bit explosive but it brings me periods of heightened awareness.” The intimacy established between artist and form lends itself to images infused with human-like sensibilities – while some appear bogged down and battered others seem innocent and untroubled.

Throughout the Night Orchids series Clarke synthesises space, time and light through the flowers’ thin lines, either contrasting or merging with their backgrounds. While some portray the delicate flower as a line drawing in white pencil, others incorporate materials such as watercolour, graphite and collage to create scenes exploding with colour. Drawing on his knowledge of architecture, Clarke describes Night Orchids as “imaginings of coloured architectural experiences…huge walls of stained glass flickering with liquid colour, that sort of thing, a sort of harnessed euphoria.”