Earth Week: Tine Poppe: Gilded Lillies

Earth Week: Tine Poppe: Gilded Lillies by Michael O. SnyderApril 18, 2025

©Tine Poppe, Anthurium Andraenum

Each year during Earth Week I curate a collection of photographic projects from artists who are working to make the often-invisible nature of the global climate and the ecological crisis more visible using conceptual, lens-based art techniques. The arts – and the visual arts in particular – have a unique capacity to confront audiences with uncomfortable truths, provoke meaningful discussion, foster empathy, and inspire individuals to take action on today’s most pressing issues.

Today, we’re looking at Tine Poppe‘s project, Gilded Lillies.

Tine Poppe is an artist photographer living and working in Oslo, Norway. Her practice focuses on bringing attention to social and environmental issues through art or documentary photography. In doing so, her work has been published and exhibited in prominent publications, photography magazines and exhibitions around world. Her works have been purchased by both governmental and corporate art collections in Norway and abroad.

Instagram: @tinepoppe

©Tine Poppe, Cala Lily

Gilded Lillies

Born and bred in industrial scale greenhouses, cut flowers have no contact with nature and generate high CO2 emissions – not unlike humans in the Western world.

Flowers are powerful symbols. People around the world use them to mark rites of passage and significant life events. In the Victorian era, flowers were considered the best medium to express feelings. Each type of flower was associated with specific, symbolic meaning.

Previously the western world’s supply of cut flowers derived from local run green houses. Today most of the flowers we buy in our stores have been transported by plane or lorries from industrial scale digitally run greenhouses around the world. Colombia, Ecuador and equatorial East Africa are the largest producers of cut flowers in the world. The greenhouses contribute to high water use and chemical runoff. On top of pollutants and water use, flowers can generate serious carbon emissions because of refrigeration and long-haul transport. Stems may be transported up to 6000 miles in refrigerated airplane holds. When grown in cooler climates, flowers need heated greenhouses and generate high CO2 emissions because of its high electricity usage.

The portrayed cut flowers were shot against a background of prints of images from vulnerable areas of the world. When giving these magnificent flowers and plants close attention, they become a mysterious, dreamlike universe in themselves and a reminder of the incredible beauty of nature that we are at serious risk of losing.