GOLD OF KINABALU 2023
Wall installation,
1500 x 300 cm
Polyester textile scraps, Sewn together
2023
In Gold of Kinabalu, Jacomella Bonola transforms industrial textile remnants into a monumental wall installation that echoes the opulent decorative tradition of Chinese wallpapers. Yet, instead of florals, the surface is perforated, marked by the absence of orchid petals excised during artificial flower production in China.
The work mourns the disappearance of 571 flower species since the 18th century, using absence as a visual language of extinction. The title refers to a rare and endangered orchid illegally traded on the black market, symbolizing the commodification of life itself. By juxtaposing beauty and loss, Gold of Kinabalu exposes the violence inherent in aesthetic pleasure and consumer desire, positioning the decorative as a site of ecological critique.
Installation view, Galerie Billing Bild, Baar (CH), 2023
© Patricia Jacomella Bonola