FLOWERS BECOME FIREWORKS! BEAUTY EXPLODES!

ORI GERSHT 

Bursts of color! Explosions of life! Minds blown!

Photographer and video artist Ori Gersht achieves all of this and more.

Gersht explodes objects of beauty, such as flowers and fruits, and transforms them into a new form of beauty, using a high speed camera to capture moments that the naked eye can never see.

One of Gersht’s earlier video works was created by firing a single bullet, at point-blank range, through the hanging pomegranate. The full video shows the pomegranate exploding, in slow motion, for two minutes. The work was exhibited at the Hirschorn Museum in Washington, D.C.

Later series, Blow Up and Time After Time, are created using liquid nitrogen to flash-freeze elaborate floral arrangements and still lifes inspired by 19th century painter Henri Fantin-Latour.

Once frozen, Gersht detonates them with small concealed explosive charges, sending shards of petals and glass flying in all directions.

Tel-Aviv-born Gersht is now based in London. His work reflects the dichotomies of violence and peace he has experienced in both home countries and around the world -- where bloody war coexists with decadence.

Gersht shows us beauty as it is being destroyed, reminding us to appreciate each moment, each ephemera. His images express paradox, both joy and sorrow, exuberance and devastation.

The slow shutter speeds create blurs and trails, giving Gersht’s photos a painterly quality. Shot against black backgrounds, the images evoke a 17th century Dutch still-life vibe.

Gersht’s images have been exhibited at museums and galleries around the world, including the Tate Gallery, the Victoria & Albert Museum, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art. He has published 4 books. Gersht teaches at the University for the Creative Arts, in England.

Read more about Fireworks Explosions in Visit the 10 Biggest, Most Beautiful Fireworks in the World.

And check out more beautiful things happening now in BN Arts/Design, Nature/Science, Food/Drink, Place/Time, Mind/Body, and Soul/Impact Daily Fix posts.

Want to see more beautiful floral explosions? Check out the incredible photos by Martin Klimas in The Beautiful Motions of Explosions Now.

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IMAGE CREDITS: 

1. Image: by Ori Gersht. “Blow Up” Series.
2. Image: by Ori Gersht. “Blow Up” Series.
3. Image: by Ori Gersht. “Pomegranate.”
4. Image: by Ori Gersht. “Blow Up” Series.
5. Image: by Ori Gersht. “Blow Up” Series.
6. Image: by Ori Gersht. “Blow Up” Series.
7. Image: by Ori Gersht. “Blow Up” Series.
8. Image: by Ori Gersht. “Blow Up” Series.
9. Image: by Ori Gersht. “Blow Up” Series.
10. Image: by Ori Gersht. “Time After Time” Series.
11. Image: by BN App - Download now!
12. Image: by Ori Gersht. “Time After Time” Series.