In my Mornington Peninsula garden, surrounded by the flora that feeds my work, I harvest the living materials that become the foundation of my eco-print painting practice. For The Apartment Show, I'm bringing together two bodies of work: my latest Mother Series alongside select pieces from last year's Inspired by Botany collection-works that are now finding their perfect home setting. Using flora harvested from my Peninsula garden—dahlias, ivy, crepe myrtle, roses, berries—I press their living essence directly onto canvas before stretching, creating imprints that can never be replicated. These botanical ghosts become the foundation for paintings that speak to the ephemeral beauty of nurturing, the cycles of growth and letting go, the profound responsibility of giving life. Works like "Mother Earth," "Creator Star," and "Life Giver" are painted with earth pigments I source locally, including dyes extracted from avocado pits, pomogranate and onion skins—materials that speak to transformation, to finding beauty in what others might discard. Soft pastels layer over these natural impressions, creating atmospheres that are both tender and complex, much like the maternal experience itself. This collection represents my effort to elevate eco-printing from craft to fine art, positioning botanical printing within the contemporary art conversation. But more than technique, these works are modern vanitas paintings—meditations on the beauty found in life's fleeting moments, the wisdom discovered in contemplating cycles of creation, growth, and return. Some pieces carry the quiet inscription "All is Well"—a reminder that even in motherhood's most challenging moments, even in nature's constant cycle of bloom and decay, there is profound beauty to be found. These works invite you to pause, to breathe, to find peace in the present moment. I chose the apartment setting because these works—especially those exploring maternal themes—belong in the intimate spaces where we live, love, and nurture. Away from the sterile formality of white gallery walls, these pieces can breathe in natural light, be encountered in quiet moments, and reveal how art transforms daily life. The domestic environment allows viewers to experience the work as it's meant to be lived with, creating deeper, more meaningful connections between art and soul. In bringing these works into a Richmond apartment setting, I honour the truth that art-like love & like nurturing-belong in the spaces where we live, where we can encounter it daily and let it transform us slowly, gently, completely. Dharshi de Silva, 2025