The language of flowers of red anthurium is "passion. The author lives in Fukushima Prefecture. In the town of Kawamata in Fukushima Prefecture, the red anthurium is the city flower. In 2012, the year after the Great East Japan Earthquake, Kinki University began experimenting with growing anthuriums using a spongy polyester medium and liquid fertilizer instead of soil as an early reconstruction support activity for Kawamata Town. Kawamata was one of the towns whose residents were forced to evacuate due to the accident at TEPCO's Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant after the earthquake. With passion, as in the language of flowers, he was able to ship to the Tokyo market in 2019. Red has always captivated certain people. The artist, too, was fascinated by the glossy red flame bracts and created this work composed entirely of anthuriums. Anthurium flowers last for a long time and are said to purify indoor air because of their air-purifying function. This story about its air-purifying function was published in the "Interior Landscapes" report published by NASA in 1989. The report showed that certain plants can improve the air quality of indoor spaces, and that many plants, including anthuriums, absorb volatile organic compounds, thereby reducing airborne toxins. Since then, research on air purification by plants has been conducted, and now various research institutes and experts have recognized the air purification ability of plants. People sometimes feel a sense of purity in a place where many flowers are in bloom. This may be our reaction to being exposed to clean air through the physical air purification function of flowers. Such physical memories may be evoked through our visual perception of the flower compositions, and we may feel calmed and refreshed. In this sense, this work is better displayed in a bedroom than in a living room. (Commentary by Kazushi Maruoka)
