With symbolic attachments as historic as the civilisations that first identified them, flowers hold meanings that surpass their ecological contexts: the dahlia’s fanned petals and connotations of inner strength, or the lotus – synonymous with fertility and rebirth. Each distinct variety carries its own subtext, communicated through the ways by which they are customarily exchanged and displayed.

For Bangkok-born print artist Lisa King, flowers lie at the heart of her process. Compiled in abstract compositions that later become her prints, her flowers are dissected stem to stigma, or with heads severed, as pools of ink diffuse in the water surrounding them. Arising in her practice as a cathartic response that pays tribute to her late mother, the floral arrangements upon which King’s design work is centered have become a symbol of solace – the act of laying and repeating patterns guiding her in processing her grief.

Shot inside her East London studio, this meditative creative practice, and the emotional connection that drives her, are exposed in Lisa King: Seeding Solace, an intimate short film directed by photographer and filmmaker Antonis Hadjimichael. Exploring nature’s potency and fragility, and our own relationship with it, the film captures a universal story from a unique perspective, creating a picture of healing through art, nature, and creativity.