Artis presented an artist talk with Ori Gersht on the occasion of his solo exhibition at Angles Gallery, “Falling Petals.”

The images in “Falling Petals” navigate the significance of cherry blossoms in Japanese culture. The ephemeral beauty of the cherry blossoms, which last only two weeks in the spring, has long been associated with the celebration and renewal of life and good fortune. To produce the series, Gersht visited Japan, photographing the cherry trees in bloom in cities and in the countryside. In the remote western regions, the ancient cherry blossom trees are planted around Buddhist temples, whereas in Hiroshima and Tokyo, they are planted around war memorials, fed by nuclear contaminated soil. The dichotomy exists in the culture today, between the war-torn history of Japan’s modern cities and the serenity of the ancient landscape.