Flos Pol lives and works in Maurik, a small village on the bank of the Lower Rhine. Her studio is next to a former trout farm, which she has transformed in recent years into a magical wilderness, with one remaining large pond. In that garden, "the Garst", she finds inspiration and material for her artistic work: paintings that deal with and are inspired by origins, growth, decay and struggle. Flowers and leaf shapes teem like tadpoles or sperm cells, painted as if her life depended on it. She alternates periods of painting with photography: of flowers, seeds, leaf structures, lighting effects, branches and bushes that in turn inspire her new work. She also collects plant material from the area, and from the garden and the pond. Jute rope from local orchards and nurseries, but also weed and moss from the garden are used in sculptural work. She recently started experimenting with large masses of algae. She removes the snails and while the algae is still wet she teases it apart and transfers it to heavy watercolour paper. This must be done quickly; there’s no time to think about the process because the algae dries out fast and then breaks. The fascinating images that emerge have an abstract, graphic character and yet unmistakably reflect the plant-like structures that emerged as they grew. Some of those algae works will be on display at the exhibition at Wit bij Witteveen # 8.