Martini Coetzee: Echoing Paradise

Crane flower/Bird of paradise (Strelitziaceae family)

I have Birds of paradise flowers in my garden. They are native to South Africa. They are a symbol of my existence here in South Africa - my paradise on earth. Like the bird of paradise, we are all here just for a short period of time in all our beauty, but the evidence of our existence will echo through the universe forever.

The bird of paradise flower is a symbol of freedom, paradise, excitement, joyfulness, glamour, faithfulness, and love. It also represents immortality as we are aspiring to higher spirituality or heavenly state, searching for spiritual enlightenment. In the work ‘the birds of paradise’, flowers are echoing to the heaven and universe from paradise, as if they are singing like birds praising their existence and life.