STORY BEHIND THE ART OF SEONGWEON AHN

23rd Annual International

American Society of Botanical Artists at Wave Hill

Lime Aide Taro

Colocasia esculenta

Colocasia esculenta, or ‘Lime Aide’ taro, is a tropical plant discovered in the Philippines. It is grown in Hawaii primarily for its edible corms, which are cooked and mashed to make a traditional dish called poi.

It was a great bit of luck for me to come across this plant in front of the greenhouse in the New Jersey Botanical Garden on a sunny day last winter. The noteworthy, fresh, mysterious pattern of the plant drove me to start drawing immediately.

The withering process of Colocasia esculenta reminded me of the nobility of human life, and it seemed the plant felt pleasant and happy to embrace newly sprouting leaves, the appearance of an austere flower, and finally to accept dead leaves.

I felt the composition would be more dynamic by placing the main subject into the upper left and leaving one stem to hang down. Because the gesture of the actual Colocasia plant was quite simple, it was a bit difficult to decide which leaf should be particularly emphasized. I have put more effort into describing simple leaves with a high degree of completion.

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