On the occasion of the publication of the book Flora Photographica. The Flower in Contemporary Photography, published by Thames & Hudson, the Centre de la photographie Genève invites you to meet its authors, William Ewing and Danaé Panchaud, as well as some of the 130 artists featured in the book.

About the book: Vivid, bold, spectacular and unexpected! A definitive overview of one of contemporary photography’s richest and most innovative fields, showcasing flower imagery by 130 of the world’s leading practitioners.

There has never been a period in photography’s long history when flowers have not been a central focus, whether in the form of the classic still life, the botanical study, or incorporated into portraiture and studies of the human body, documented in street photography, or used subversively in surrealist collage and montage.

Today, flower photography remains, literally, in full bloom, with photographers the world over depicting flowers and floral motifs in novel ways — or respectfully extending established traditions. Featuring works by 130 photographers, Flora Photographica links the very best of flower photography from the past thirty years with its predecessors – not only canonical floral studies from the realms of photography since the first days of the medium, but also from botanical illustration, drawing and painting that have marked the collective imagination for centuries.

Works by contemporary photographers such as Pedro Almodovar, Cindy Sherman, Thomas Ruff, Vik Muniz, Valérie Belin, Viviane Sassen and Thomas Struth appear across nine thematic chapters, complemented by in-depth essays by curators William A. Ewing and Danaé Panchaud exploring the relationship between contemporary works and the rich traditions of floral art and photography.