Artist Statement
Common Wormwood (Artemisia absinthia) is native to Eurasia and Africa, but is widely naturalized in Canada and the Northern United States. This plant is common throughout Southern Alberta, and I regularly encounter scraggly, persistent specimens growing on the bald and windy hilltops of my Calgary neighbourhood. This plant is a key ingredient of absinthe, a curious alcoholic drink that enjoyed wild popularity among European writers and artists at the turn of the 20th century but was subsequently banned upon swirling rumours it caused hallucinations and other “psychotic behaviours.” While these rumours are now understood to be overblown, Common Wormwood does make a suite of phytochemicals including absinthin and thujone, the latter being the alleged agent of purported insanity. The plant is also used to flavour vermouth, bäsk, and pelinkovac.
Original $200. Prints from $200, please inquire.