Installation view. Photograph: ©Michaël Quemener. Courtesy of Les Bains-Douches, Alençon

Photograph: ©Michaël Quemener. Courtesy of Les Bains-Douches, Alençon

Elif Satanaya Özbay, Something About A Double-Edged Sword, wood laminate, couch foam, wooden frame, steel water basin, lamp with shade, water, water pump, glass Narzan water bottles, dimensions variable, 2023-2024 Courtesy of the artist. Photograph: ©Michaël Quemener. Courtesy of Les Bains-Douches, Alençon

Tanatchai Bandasak, Untitled (a flower of extraordinary size), die-cut sticker, spoilt wine, 2021 Courtesy of the artist. Photograph: ©Michaël Quemener. Courtesy of Les Bains-Douches, Alençon

Maaike Schoorel, Lilly in the Kitchen, oil on linen,170cm x 125 cm, 2016. Courtesy of the artist & Mendes Wood DM. Photograph: ©Michaël Quemener. Courtesy of Les Bains-Douches, Alençon

Marlie Mul Puddle (Gritty), sand, stones, resin, 134 cm x 182 cm, 2014. Courtesy of the FRAC Alsace. Photograph: ©Michaël Quemener. Courtesy of Les Bains-Douches, Alençon

Marlie Mul, Puddle (Dodge), sand, stones, resin, 145 × 92 cm, 2014. Courtesy of the artist & Croy Nielsen, Vienna. Photograph: ©Michaël Quemener. Courtesy of Les Bains-Douches, Alençon

Jason Hendrik Hansma, In Our Real Life (Embers), video, sound, looped, 2021-2024 Courtesy of the artist. Photograph: ©Michaël Quemener. Courtesy of Les Bains-Douches, Alençon

Damon Zucconi, My Attraction May Fade, But I Will Not, light, fog machine, 2020. Courtesy of the artis. Photograph: ©Michaël Quemener. Courtesy of Les Bains-Douches, Alençon

Every Flower Seems To Burn By Itself

Like a sunset, the exhibition Every Flower Seems To Burn By Itself momentarily suspends time. Each artwork slowly burns and blossoms in its own heat like Woolf’s flowers: vibrant, full and lingering before disappearing into the rhythms of daily life once more. By curating artworks by (in order of appearance) Maaike Schoorel, Tanatachi Bandasak, Marlie Mul, Jason Hendrik Hansma, Elif Satanaya Özbay and Damon Zucconi, the exhibition aims to evoke the sensation of time stretching out, pulling your viewing experience along, like spun sugar candy elongating into delicate, airy threads.

By creating this experience, we hope you’ll return to each work and see more than you initially thought you would. Most of us have heard the phrase ‘take time to smell the roses’ throughout our lives—a cliché, perhaps, but for good reason. When we pause and dilly-dally away from our regimented agendas, we’re often surprised that the sweet scent inspires us to look more closely at what surrounds us. Taking (or sculpting?) time means giving time. During times of crisis, as societies worldwide confront challenges across many facets of life, attentiveness and reflection become more essential, not less.