KEAN ONN SEE

I’ve been fascinated by orchids for as long as I can remember. Not just for their bizarre beauty, but also their logic and audacity. Orchids all follow the same biological rules, yet reinvent themselves endlessly. The more I studied them, scientifically and culturally, the more intrigued I became.

Humans are just as peculiar around orchids. We see faces in flowers that were never meant for us and history is full of orchid hysteria, collectors climbing cliffs for a single bloom, empires sending ships just to retrieve a new species.

Orchids didn’t evolve for us, yet somehow we can’t help but bewitched by them.

That curiosity became the spark for this body of work. I wanted to explore orchids not just as plants, but as cultural mirrors and vessels of identity, desire, and imagination.

Orchids & Hanga
This series pairs five orchid genera with Japanese woodblock prints (Hanga), creating quiet dialogues between botanical structure and ukiyo-e restraint. Each pairing forms a different mood and distinct “flavour” of harmony, tension or recognition.

Orchids of Southeast Asia (Singapore)
The second series, continues that conversation through the lens of place and identity. The paintings of Papilionanthe Miss Joaquim, Paphiopedilum barbatum, and Phalaenopsis amabilis, each of regional significance, are composed with objects chosen not as symbols, but as gestures — subtle reflections of regional personality and character.

Together, these works are my way of honouring the curious relationship between orchids and humans and inviting you to feel that spark of fascination with me.