The Anatomy of Wishes
The Anatomy of Wishes
Taraxacum Officionale (the common dandelion)
Dr. Ida Hopewell conducting field research
Dr. Ida Hopewell lecturing on her discovery. (Live performance at the RISD Museum)
Florance Hopewell, Ida's mother before she went missing in 1910
A page from Florence's horticultural journal, where Ida first discovers her mother's writing on the unusual properties of dandelions.
Florence Hopewell in her greenhouse, circa 1909
Experiment in wish conductivity
Possible explanations of wish conductivity
Florence Hopewell with Ida as a baby
Taraxacum Officionale (the common dandelion) as compared to the "false dandelion
The Spotted touch-me-not
The rare Taraxacum Gigantus
Florence Hopewell
Florence Hopewell
Common tools of the botanist
The delicate pappus structure acts like a parachute but is also the key ingredient in determining wish conductivity.
Field research
Florence in the garden
Latent Wishes
The Anatomy of Wishes is an investigation into memory, longing and the taxonomy of wish-making. Famed 19th century botanist, Dr. Ida Hopewell, has made an astonishing discovery. Hidden in her late mother's writings, is proof that dandelions can in fact, make wishes come true. Performing as the fictional Ida, I attempt to empirically prove the physical existence of wishes.