transparent flowers settle within mystical aquatic garden in luna ikuta's 'afterlife: belladonna'

continuing her botanical studies using transparent plant specimens arranged in underwater landscapes, artist luna ikuta extends her ‘afterlife’ film series, this time working with belladonna lilies and gerbera daisies. dubbed ‘afterlife: belladonna’, the new project merges the worlds of land and sea, transforming the flowers into anemone-like forms mystically swaying in dark waters.

full view of belladonna 
all images courtesy of luna ikuta

stripping away their hue and chlorophyll, luna ikuta has made the plants transparent, creating a surreal, enigmatic presentation. grown in los angeles, the belladonna lily is a bulbous perennial featuring large clusters of up to 4-12 scented, trumpet-shaped, pink flowers, that grows naturally during summer. here, both the lily and daisy take a new form, appearing like alien life resting upon a rock arrangement of obsidian stones.

detail of gerbera daisy

the textural details and gossamer-thin vascular networks are visible in three-dimension, beautifully preserved and visible to the naked eye. the artist successfully suspends our disbelief in thinking these may be computer-generated, however, the details reveal non-replicable intricacies of floral anatomy that are lively as they are in their natural form. luna ikuta’s work opens a new way of plant preservation and floral art, and disrupts traditional practices of aquascaping.

oxygen beads on belladonna lily

belladonna lily

detail of belladonna lily

gerbera daisy

gerbera daisy

close up of belladonna landscape

belladonna lily and betta

gerbera daisy and betta

belladonna lily and betta

gerbera daisy and betta

project info:

name: afterlife: belladonna
artist: luna ikuta

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: myrto katsikopoulou | designboom