Pansies

From her colour laboratory in North Zealand, Margrethe Odgaard has sent 10 letters to Museum for Papirkunst. As wordless messages, each letter explores the ability of colours to convey emotions, memories and identities.

In Pansies Odgaard delves into the cultural history of letters, where the written word has often been used to express what could not be said out loud – not least forbidden love. When the written word was not sufficient, pressed flowers with symbolic meaning were placed in the letters. Perhaps the written word was not poetic enough or perhaps it could not contain the sender’s true feelings. The language of flowers is called floriography and the pansy is rich in meaning.

With its intense spectrum of colours and unique patterns, the pansy became a metaphor for thoughts, romance and diversity. This is reflected in the flower’s French name “pensée” which means thoughts, and in Shakespeare’s Hamlet from 1599 where Ophelia hands them out with the words: There’s pansies, that’s for thoughts. Later in the 20th century the pansy became a symbol in homosexual circles as a discreet visual code in a time of social stigmatization. In this way men could express their love for each other in safety form norms.

The ability to communicate visually with colour is still relevant today when words are not enough. In Pansies Odgaard translates the colour language of pansies into works of pigment and paper. Each work appears as two hand-painted letters in an unfolded envelope where the intensity and vibration of the pigments awaken both senses and emotions. The folds of the paper emphasize light, shadows and tactility while the colours stand as abstract messages.