Beyond “Flowerness”

When one speaks of salience, the white spider lilies are no doubt the most salient as it not only forms the foreground of the picture; it is also the sharpest represented participant as opposed to the blurred background. The very fact that it is salient allows viewers to interpret the semiotic potential of the spider lilies that goes beyond the denotation of flowerness.

From what I know of spider lilies, it can be found almost everywhere in Singapore as a decorative plant by pathways or surrounding institutions or buildings. It is hardy and blooms for a short period of time of over 2-3 weeks and withers soon after. Despite its short blooming span, the abundance of these lilies continues to beautify the surrounding consistently replacing the withering ones.

Thus, with that prior knowledge, one possible meaning potential that the image can afford would be how these white spider lilies could be the semblance of love. Tough love to be precise where realistically in relationships between a man and his wife, arguments, that might wither the love, are no strangers to the relationship. At the same time, the cycle of withering and blooming like that of spider lilies metaphorically represent how love withers and blooms.

The white petals signify purity and thus show how love is at its purest when it is blooming. However, at the same time, the petals seem to be drooping down rather than bloom upright like a rose. With reference to this week's reading, van Leeuwen mentioned that metaphors highlight some aspects and repress others, thus indicating what is important for the purpose of the given context. Hence, in this case, I truly wonder what aspect of 'love' is repressed and whether this repression actually uncovers the connotation of love that lies within the spider lily.