Flora Yucateca

Artist Talk

Presented during Merida Fest’s ‘Recorridos por las Galeria del Centro Historico’ 1.25.2025

Hello, welcome to the exhibit Efflorescence, where we find Contracorriente Gallery in a state of blooming. My name is Jennifer Chilstrom, the great granddaughter of Swedish immigrants who came to settle in Minnesota, on tribal lands of the indigenous Dakota, in the United States.

I grew up alongside my grandparents’ humble gardens. My fondest childhood memories are in anticipation of nature: the first fragrant lily of the valley blooms, ripe Juneberries, or baby ducks emerging from the tiger lilies. In this garden, I began my first drawings of plants. I now study and create artworks of medicinal plants nationally and internationally. I believe in my responsibility as an artist to record, advocate for, and expose the natural world.

Before it was academic, knowledge of the natural world was intrinsic and instinctual. My work aims to build a bridge between these two portals, exploring the delicate tension between permanence and change. As an artist I often wonder how I can offer our communities a view into the natural world from a different lens. Are plants only raw material, commodity? Or is it possible that by elevating the agency of a plant we can improve our human and plant relations? I believe plants are equal creators of knowledge. In the broad ideologies of spirit/ancestor, plants play vital roles. From rites to recipes, plants persist and become renewed in our cultures and most beloved cultural traditions. Births, weddings, and funerals for example are expressions of continued human and plant relations.

My goal as an artist, through this series, is to reignite this anticipation of nature through the stories only plants can tell. In this role, the artist is a conduit for the exchange: holding our historical knowledge and traditions while creating a new way forward as an offering to our current and future communities.

When I first arrived in Merida after deciding to live here, I realized that part of my sense of home belonged to the natural world. It was fascinating to be in a new place and to walk around not knowing all of the names (or history) of many of the plants around me, the way that I was used to in my own city. I made quick work of getting to know my new neighbors. The selection of plants for Flora Yucateca came organically. These were the first plants I encountered with awe and wonder, they welcomed me to my new home. They made me realize that, for as often as we can think of ourselves in an individualistic way, we are always co-creating with nature. I made the decision to depict them just as I saw them, employing the philosophy of Wabi Sabi- an important principle in Japanese art, that appreciates beauty through asymmetry, imperfection, simplicity and intimacy. For me, being surrounded by the exquisite candy-colored homes in Merida while seeing these plants and feeling such a strong, sacred, kind, and grounding presence- this is the foundation of this series. I pay homage to surrounding folk art and embroidery through subtle line work in some of the leaves. Here we are and now I am home.

So that you may get to know more about me, I have included two series of works of plants from my home. Giant and towering hollyhocks, ephemerals, and more- all rich with culture, history and medicine.

I want to pay special thanks to Monica and the gallery for giving me the opportunity to be in community with you and to share my artwork.

Thank you so much for your time and attention today. It has been a pleasure sharing space with you. Merida thank you for your kindness, you are like a hug. I invite any comments or questions.