This painting celebrates Frida‘s love of life, Diego and her beloved flowers, dahlias.
During her last days Frida famously painted ‘Viva La Vida’, a still life of watermelons. The Spanish words were painted as if etched into the watermelon. Some say these were her words she wanted to leave this world with, ‘live the life’. This she did to the fullest including her unwavering admiration and love towards Mexico’s famous painter Diego Rivera.
For this artwork I chose dahlias as they were known to be one of Frida’s favourite flowers. The otami vase was inspired by the embroidery I photographed in Mexico. The symbols with in this kaleidoscopic and colourful embroidery represent the native flora and fauna found in the Hidalgo region of central Mexico.