Educated in Poland, Maszkiewicz’s relationship with nature takes roots in her childhood. Her mother was a botanist who encouraged her interests. It wasn’t until she moved to Los Angeles a couple of years ago, when she learnt the sculptural craft under the eye of an American artist, Brad Howe. The Malibu neighbourhood of his studio let her explore the Californian landscape that feeds into her current projects. “Nature is a big part of LA living. The enigmatic character of the desert, from the beaches through Palm Springs to Joshua Tree. The effect of climate change and the drought. Our unsustainable relationship with nature. I like to draw attention to those topics”, she says.
With Suspended Gardens, Maszkiewicz wanted to illustrate the impermanence of beauty and its natural demise. Flowers combined into large-scale bouquets hung upon the white ceiling create a living environment that dries, wilts and eventually dies. It is a form of a manifesto against taking beauty for granted.