ARTS & CRAFTS > FLORILEGIUM
Florilegium- a gathering of flowers; a collection of writing from several sources, an anthology
FOR BEST RESULTS:
Please take a key to own (the numbers run 1-104 in rows left to right), write the number of the key on the back of your selected key tag along with…
A prayer for the future, a song from the past. Something to remember or forget. The name of a loved one: someone no longer loved. A letter to your present self never to be opened. A thought, question, answer. Tell a secret; a lie.
…on the other side of the tag, the one without the number. Please place the key tag once written on in place of the key which is now yours to do with as you please.
Key #56 “i’m tired of who i’ve been”
Angel numbers in Western tradition are usually doubles or triples of the same number repeated or numbers that have lucky/unlucky histories attributed to them such as 13, 222, 7, 444, etc. 52 is one such number for me- from license plates, order numbers, train cars; it has seemingly shown up when large life changes are coming. This happenstance could very well be the human phenomenon that once you get used to a certain shape or pattern it tends to catch your eye more often, hence why I am able to find four-leaf clovers with ease from years of searching for them every spring. Either way you are prone to believe, 52 is a significant number in my life and yours too for a matter of fact. There are 52 weeks in a year (in the Gregorian Calendar), 52 cards in a deck (minus jokers), 52 black keys on a piano, 52 is the fifth Bell number (if you’re into math like that, I personally am not), and 52 in Mandarin Chinese 五十二 (wǔshí'èr) symbolizes a harmonious relationship and more specifically 520 五二零 (Wǔ Èr Líng) sounds very similar to 我爱你（wǒ ài nǐ) “I love you”. Needless to say, the number 52 has significance in many mediums, cultures, and languages.
My father and I are 52 years apart in age. 52 times two just so happens to be 104. 104 was my father’s locker number in seminary which he just so happened to give me the key to when I became interested in collecting various shapes and styles of keys. This specific key besides saying “104” on the back of it also bore the words “Duplication Prohibited” and I, being the authority adverse and text obsessed artist that I am, thought it would be supremely hilarious to duplicate the now useless key into even more useless keys against its own warning.
What good is a key when you no longer have access to the door/object that it opens? Does it still have significance as an object though it is functionally useless? Is a secret still a secret when it is written with the possibility of being read? Do we as human beings have an obligation to hold others’ secrets when we are separated from their original context or importance? What does it mean to offer solace and to be trusted to hold others thoughts and feelings without being privy to the histories behind what is being held?
Florilegium is a piece that requires trust, though not honesty- And while I do not have answers to the questions I have posed for myself and now you, I hope that being somewhat privy to 103 thoughts, wishes, feelings, sorrows, joys, and happenstances among much more will create some joined feeling of not being isolated in unknowings and help us to be more open to serendipitous happenings.
Key #72 “I HAVE NEVER fELT imPORTANT ENOUGH”
27 out of 104 keys remain in Florilegium’s third showing
After going through four exhibitions a singular metal key remains, the original one from my father that was used to make the mold for the rest. All 104 porcelain keys have new owners and coincidentally the last key was taken without leaving a tag, resulting in a sign that read “THIS PIECE IS NO LONGER INTERACTIVE” being put up next to the piece for the remaining duration of the last exhibition it was shown in.
By EROS C BACKUS | eroscbackus@gmail.com | initially comprised of 104 mold made ceramic keys, now holding zero of those original keys and 103 thoughts, messages, apologies, letters, questions and answers and one metal key whose duplication though prohibited was cultivated
Originally Made: December 5th, 2021