Richard Gessert

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Artist Statement:

Bleeding Heart Flowers considers the memory of the Vietnam War and its affective registers. The photo depicts flowers known as bleeding hearts (Lamprocapnos spectabilis), a plant that blooms in the cool of spring with heart-shaped blossoms. The artwork is informed by multivalent meanings of the Vietnamese word thương. While thương can refer to either romantic or platonic love, thương can also generally be used to describe wounds or feeling sorry for someone. In wartime, wounded soldiers were called thương binh. By chance, I took this photo in Chicago on the anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War.

Artist Bio:

Richard Gessert is an interdisciplinary artist based in Chicago, Illinois, and he is a graduate of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Richard’s artwork is informed by his interests in visual culture and design, particularly their cultural and historical milieux.

@richard.gessert