Flower Bottle Wasp 

Editor: Here we have Scott Fraser's *Flower Bottle Wasp*. There's an interesting contrast with the smooth, almost staged flower arrangement against the very stark presence of the wasp on the surface. What do you see in this piece? Curator: I see an intriguing tension between the beautiful and the abject, heightened by Fraser's almost photorealistic technique. Look at the interplay between the manufactured glass, the cultivated flower, and the wild, now deceased, insect. Where do you think he sourced these materials? Editor: Well, the flower seems readily available. The bottle? Maybe he purchased it, perhaps even repurposed it. As for the wasp… found. Do you think this process speaks to how we value and assign worth to common things? Curator: Precisely. The deliberate selection and arrangement of these commonplace materials elevates them, demanding we consider their individual histories and societal roles. Think of the labor involved: producing the glass bottle, cultivating the flower, capturing – or discovering – the wasp. Even the artistic labour in rendering all these. Does this artistic choice challenge the conventional hierarchy between art and craft? Editor: Absolutely! It seems to blur that boundary. The intense detail and skill involved elevates this above just, say, a simple nature study, forcing the viewer to think about the making and materials in it. Curator: And how our society consumes both beauty and nature itself, doesn't it? Editor: That’s a good point. Thinking about all those levels of material processes at play is pretty powerful. Curator: Indeed, the artist has given me much food for thought today.