Cristina Lei Rodriguez: Visual Artist

Amongst the hustle and bustle of daily life, plants will always offer a chance to slow down and breathe. As a busy artist and mother, Cristina knows this fact better than anybody. 

She’s integrated plants into her everyday routine, taking the time each morning to check in on the orchids in her kitchen, watering them and seeing if there are any new blooms. The patience required in gardening is a sharp contrast to other facets of her life. 

“I can yell at my kids to wake up, but the plant I can't yell at to grow faster.”

Cristina sees the beauty in nature everywhere, even in the small moments that many would otherwise miss. 

“My work really comes from the way that I see things in the landscape all day long…I think, ‘Oh, that's incredible that weed is growing through the crack of the sidewalk.’”

A key theme throughout Cristina’s work is the connection and melding of the urban environment and nature. From using plastic and resin to mimic organic forms to displaying her beautiful, detailed scans of flowers in one of the least natural places you could imagine: a Florida airport. 

“I wanted to make a work dedicated to the state of Florida, create a moment of nature in the busyness of the airport. That could be a refuge, a step out of the world here into the natural world of our state.”

Shot and edited by Jacopo Fantastichini.

Produced by Laura Christian.

Music by Fabrizio Bondi.

Check out more of Cristina’s work on her website.