Lyn Hayden
Born 1944, Hackensack, NJ, lives and works in Rehoboth, MA
Tuberous Water Lily, 1872 (Nymphaea Tuberosa), 1999, mixed media on type C print, Museum Purchase, 2000.20
Lyn Hayden's interest in wild plants and flowers is evident throughout her work, which often features medicinal herbs, ferns found in the rainforests of the Pacific Northwest, and lichen growing on gravestones. Tuberous Water Lily is part of a series of photographs by Hayden, using as a subject the botanical specimens in Brown University's Herbarium. Hayden achieves a feeling of timelessness by manipulating the photographic image. First, the flower, also known as Pink Lady's Slipper, is taped to the page with white adhesive with a handwritten label of the flower's scientific name and the date of collection, 1872. After photographing it, Hayden dribbles oil and wax over the surface, thereby emphasizing the age and fragility of the specimen. Upon completion, the flower is transformed from a dried botanic specimen to single lily with its own inherent beauty.
