Paperwork and the Will of Capital, Press XL

Taryn Simon takes inspiration from the context of major political meetings and draws attention to the many symbols of decorum and diplomacy they employ by focusing on the quiet presence of decorative floral arrangements. Simon indexes, re-creates, photographs, and preserves these centerpieces, linking the grand theatrics of political deal-making and the globalization of world economies to the intricacies of botany and horticulture. In the delicate stack of pages that forms part of the sculptural steel monolith, Simon brings together the natural and the mechanical, the ephemeral and the eternal, in a precarious state of balance.