Arisaema mask

‘Arisaema’ as worn by the artist, 2020

The Arisaema genus of plants regularly change their sex as a means of survival. By shifting between male, female, and hermaphroditic, the plants may be able to conserve energy and adjust to environmental stressors. This allows for resource allocation within the plant as well: spending a year as male, after previously reproducing as female, allows the plants to recover from the high energy expense of producing fruits with seeds.

As a mask, Arisaema serves as an archetype of non-binary and fluid sexual expression, inviting us to envision a more mutable sexual experience. The flower evokes both male and female sexual characteristics, presenting both human and plant in relation to each other. In this way, gender expression and sexuality in the human world are brought closer to sex and reproduction in the plant world. We are mirrors of each other.