Heide Hatry's neo-conceptual photographs in "Not a Rose" look like your standard calendar-worthy nature photography.
But if you think you are looking at a beautiful flower in bloom, think again. You're actually staring at a cow's vagina and a sheep's penis, and you cannot un-see it.
In Hatry's secret-filled garden, flowers are replaced with the flesh and sex organs of deceased animals. The scrubbed animal parts blend in surprisingly well with the plant-filled backdrop. Although the image of raw flesh can almost pass for that of a pansy, we imagine the accompanying scent would be telling. The stark juxtaposition of bloom and decay presents a dark take on the ephemeral nature of life -- whether plant or animal.
Hatry's work pins our aesthetic taste against our ethical judgment, hyperbolizing the ways in which sex organs can simultaneously attract and repulse. Her fleshy flowers suggest that perhaps Mother Nature's most beloved eye candy is not as tame as it first appears. Whether you fall for Hatry's non-vegan garden or would prefer your roses organ-free, we guarantee you'll never look at a flower the same way again.
"Not A Rose" runs from May 23 until June 22, 2013 at Stux Gallery in New York. For another interpretation on lewd flowers check out Christopher Beane's orchid orgies.
