The Name of [Mystery]

The interconnections between nature, culture and cultivation are taken up by Susan Wides in her lush images of roses from the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens. In this series, Wides juxtaposed soft-focus, abstracted close-ups of roses with their classificatory labels, inscribed with evocative names such as 'Playgirl,'' Lady Reading,' 'Chasin' Rainbows,' and 'New Dawn.' Playing off the Resnaissance codification of the "language of flowers," Wides deconstructs the rose as a cultural symbol of sentimentality anchoring traditional notions of femininity and desire." -- Mia Fineman, ('Foreign Ferns: Botanical Studies from Talbot to the Present,' Julie Saul Gallery exhibition essay)