This article continues the visual ethnography series using images and close observation to examine how people live, make meaning, and give those meanings form in practice. Please refer to the Index of Artscapes and Articles for other works that may be of interest.

Plate note: “Magenta pelargoniums”. Digital art from a photograph I took in Ulaanbaatar. C.Pleteshner for CPinMongolia.com. 23 September 2025

During my stay here in Mongolia this year, I’m seeing how guests arrive with bunches of carefully selected fresh flowers for their host/s or Teacher (Mong. Bagsh). I first observed this social practice back in 2005.

Mongolian floriography, the symbolic language of flowers, is not a widely documented tradition. However in my in-Mongolia circle of friends, the intended meanings of particular flowers, and their combinations, continue to be transmitted through oral lineages tied to their medicinal properties, religious significance (cf. Mongolian Gelug Buddhist) and also their association with academic achievement.

The national flower of Mongolia is the Ber Tsetseg (Mong. Бэр цэцэг), scientifically known as Scabiosa comosa. This hardy plant is known for its pale blue to light purple blooms and symbolic representation of tolerance, beauty, and endurance.

Artists also use floral imagery to communicate emotions, allegories, and social messages. And as AI becomes a bigger part of “art”, flowers are no longer something we only put in a vase.

Flowers and foliage appear in a digitised virtual space, albeit having been “enhanced” by a computational algorithm. Such algorithms function like recipes, taking one or more inputs, processing them through a series of systematic steps, and producing one or more outputs.

Nonetheless, the discretionary aesthetic sensibilities of the artist are still intimately involved. Here, I’m referring to an individual’s unique, voluntary choices and preferences in appreciating beauty and art, and where they actively choose how to direct their attention and judgement, rather than being compelled by external pressures, imaginary or otherwise. 

To be clear, there is a fundamental difference between art and digital art. Traditional art uses physical materials such as paint on canvas, resulting in a tactile, one-of-a-kind physical object. In contrast, digital art uses electronic devices and software to create works that are essentially digital files. This distinction not only affects the creation process, but also the ability to edit and  the artwork’s final presentation.

Creating new forms of floral art, the combination of AI, flowers and foliage for example, feels like another beginning. To date, in terms of SLR and other photography, I have enjoyed working in black and white. However, I am also interested in what AI has to offer, and so have begun experimenting within these new digital software environments using my own photographs. When I am with my Mongolian friends, I am always inspired.  

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FURTHER READING

Opening outward from the pelargonium’s vivid domestic presence, Artscape 11: View from my window considers the relationship between interior space and the Mongolian landscape through the frame of a window.

For a poetic meditation on attentive observation, Mongolian Poetry 43: Do Not Pluck the Flower! considers the delicate beauty of nature and a Buddhist-informed appreciation that does not require possession or disruption.

Bringing questions of perception and language into the picture, Letter from Mongolia 13: Setgel in Translation examines the complexities of translating setgel and communicating dimensions of Mongolian inner life across cultural boundaries.

End of transcript.

Refer to the INDEX for other articles that may be of interest.

© 2013-2026. CP in Mongolia. “Artscape 12: Magenta pelargonium” is licensed under the  Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Open access should not be understood as the absence of attribution. Documents linked from this page may be subject to other restrictions.  Posted: 23 September 2025. Last updated: 28 September 2026.