Ailene deVries (she/they) is an artist and garden keeper currently based out of Detroit. Professionally trained as a photographer, deVries uses her lens-based practice to examine the intersections of art, language, and botany. She approaches these subjects in the form of embroidery, weaving, quilting, bookmaking, and printmaking. deVries graduated from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago with a Masters in Visual and Critical Studies (’21).

Where are you from and where do you live now?

I grew up in Huron County, Ontario, Canada. Right now, I’m living in Detroit. 

Tell us a bit about your creative journey and how you got to where you are today.

My work is greatly informed by the environment I grew up in. Surrounded by agriculture and livestock, I still feel deeply connected to that environment even though I have lived in cities since I was 17. I also grew up watching my mother put so much labor, care, and love into her gardens, just as her mother and father had. Her actions, paired with my dad’s interest in botany, planted seeds that have developed in my creative practice. 

How long have you been pressing flowers (starting as a hobby)?

The first flower I pressed was in the 7th grade. Someone who knew I loved lilacs left some in the spot I usually put my backpack. I felt inclined to keep it as a reminder of this person and their sweet actions. In some ways, I think pressing plants is like taking an image with a camera – they invoke the same sense of memory and recall to events. 

Why did you select the particular images you did from The Louvre (2000) book? In the beginning, was it pure accident or did you select the women specifically?

During my final year of undergrad, I knew that I had something good in all the books that I had pressed plants in over the years. My problem was: I didn’t know how to share or communicate these pressings to others. I brought all of my notebooks and books from over the years to a professor’s office. It was when I opened The Louvré that she and I were able to brainstorm and find a way to share what I, and the flowers, had made. I copied the pages of the books verbatim–where the flowers had molded directly over and through the illustrations. For the first three images I made, I did not intervene at all (Eve/Pandora, Elisabeth of Austria, and Madeleine). After I made these images, I was offered a solo show at the Gladstone Hotel in Toronto, Ontario. I used this concept I had previously discovered and intentionally placed plants for the remainder of the series–though I had no control over how much or how little the plants would mold to the pages or spread out. It was more of a collaborative project with the plants. 

 Just this past year, I had a dear friend of mine commission a print for a project they were curating. As I knew them well, I used a page within The Louvré to press her favorite flower, an orchid. I think that this project will continue to evolve in a more intentional way from here on out. I hope to continue to make images with others in mind–furthering the collaborative element of this process. 

 Can you share some of the stories of where you got the flowers that you used in the Perennials series?

 The first three images that I created, Eve/Pandora, Elisabeth of Austria, and Madeleine, include peonies. I had hoped that they would press nicely so that I would be able to preserve the bouquet that I had received from my partner. As the project evolved, I was able to choose the pairings of flowers and images. Magdalene is covered in rose petals, Pointy Shoes nearly holds a few snapdragons from my brother’s wedding day, and Maria Rita Barrenechea is covered in a bougainvillea I gathered in Mexico. 

What do you do when you’re not creating art?

I recently began a company with a friend called Dirt Road. We are working to make art more accessible for everyone while alleviating the labor of self-promotion that artists often struggle with. 

Name a book you would recommend to artists.

Hold Still by Sally Mann. 

What artists inspire you?

I’m a big fan of Anna Atkins and Emily Dickinson – I think that they have greatly informed my practice from the beginning. More modern artists that inspire me include Jen Bervin, Anna Torma, and Sara Angelucci. 

What career would you do if you weren’t an artist?

I would absolutely be a gardener. 

View Works by Ailene deVries