Rare Roses
Series Statement
Rare Roses is a painting series based on real roses with rare genetic abnormalities. The work examines how difference is perceived, how value is assigned, and how cultural systems translate variation into hierarchy. Through this series, difference is positioned not as deficit, but as a fundamental condition of life—one that challenges inherited assumptions about normalcy, identity, and human worth.
The rose functions as a symbolic framework rather than a sentimental metaphor. Across cultures and throughout history, roses have been universally revered as symbols of beauty, love, and value. Less widely known is that roses, like humans, can exhibit rare genetic variations—differences that are often prized rather than rejected. In these instances, deviation does not diminish value; it intensifies significance. To better understand these naturally occurring variations, Nicole consulted botanists and researchers while developing the series. (You can learn more about rose variations here.)
Personal Context
The series originated in Nicole’s experience as a mother raising a child with a rare genetic condition. Witnessing how quickly difference is translated into hierarchy—how value becomes conditional when bodies or lives fall outside normative standards—shaped the ethical and conceptual foundation of the work.
The twelve paintings reference Nicole’s son—her “rare rose”—while extending beyond the personal to address broader belief systems that equate sameness with worth and difference with loss. The work is grounded in maternal experience, but its inquiry is expansive, constructing a visual argument for dignity, beauty, and value as intrinsic rather than conditional.
Exhibitions / Collections
Rare Roses has been exhibited in academic, medical, and research settings, where its inquiry into genetics, perception, and value intersects with lived experience. The series has been shown at the Greenwood Genetic Center and is held in permanent collections including Clemson University’s Center for Human Genetics, the University of Chicago’s Department of Human Genetics, Boston Children’s Hospital, the Medical University of South Carolina, and the Greenwood Genetic Center.
The original twelve paintings are now placed in permanent collections. While the series itself is complete, its conceptual framework continues to circulate through related projects and presentations.
