Upon choosing the photograph I wanted to use for my gel medium transfer, I immediately thought of the photo I took in Bluffton, South Carolina. It was such a perfect day. My mum and I were having a day to ourselves, exploring the place that we would be building our summer home, a place where my parents and the dog could escape the colder months while my brother and I are at university. I have always romanticized South Carolina, the smell of the salty ocean, cobblestone roads, old, colourful homes from the 18th century, the Spanish moss, and so much history, perfectly preserved and honoured. As we walked through the streets, we would admire Bluffton's beauty. It was then that I came across the Cherokee Rose. It is a vine plant, and was creeping up a broken brick wall. There was only one white flower on the vine, I just had to capture it. When we returned from the town of Bluffton, I did research on this curious little flower. It turns out that the Cherokee Rose is central to a legend from the early 1800s during the time of the "Trail of Tears", when indigenous people were driven off their ancestral lands. This lost piece of history saw 16,000 Native Americans marched over 1,200 miles of rugged land in 1838 alone. Many died of disease, famine and in attempts to rebel. During the "Trail of Tears" the mothers of the Cherokee were in grief due to their inability to help their children survive the journey. The Cherokee elders wanted to find a sign that would lift the mother's spirits to give them strength. The legend detailed that a white rose grew where each of the mother's tears fell: The white symbolizing their grief, and the gold centre a tribute to the gold stolen from Cherokee lands. The seven leaves on the vine-stem of each flower also represent the seven Cherokee clans.
This lonely little flower caught my attention. It's story begged to be heard, and through my gel medium transfer, I want to bring more recognition to this forgotten piece of history in a place where history is valued highly.
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