In Perpetua

Notes

In Perpetua emerges from Jeanne Hugo’s continued investigation into botanical semiotics, articulated through the inherently fragile substrate of hand-painted silk. Produced in the Chinese year of the wood snake, the work centers on the serpent as an archetypal signifier of cyclical renewal, esoteric knowledge, and perpetual metamorphosis. Its entwined dialogue with the Brugmansia — a species both intoxicating and toxic — underscores the dualities of allure and peril embedded within natural forms. Executed through layered botanical ink washes and subtle printmaking interventions, the composition exists in a state of suspended becoming: the silk’s translucency renders the image weightless, as if recalling a memory mid-formation. In this oscillation between delicacy and potency, In Perpetua meditates on transformation as a continuous, liminal condition.

Thanks to Jeanne Hugo for assistance in the cataloguing of this lot.