005. Spider Lily

This is a picture of a spider lily. With its stark white petals foregrounding the flower, it stands out as the most salient object in the picture. The flower is also in the centre of the picture and the petals appear to be ‘reaching out’ to fill up majority of the page. The green blurry grass is being set as the background in contrast to the crisp and vivid foregrounding of the flower.

As mentioned by Nelson, this picture of a spider lily was taken within the NIE compound. On a usual school day when one is rushing for classes, breaks and project meetings, this object is often bypassed and needless to say, seldom would one stop and take a moment to ponder what significance or meaning this spider lily can bring. Interestingly, when one does take a moment to ponder (like now!!), this ordinary picture of a spider lily can bring forth many potential meanings (to me).

1. The whiteness of the spider lily gives a connotation of innocence, purity and peace.


2. Spider lilies grow in clusters, as evident from the picture, and it reminds me of a family unit. From the picture, we can see that majority of the flowers are in bloom and in the ‘pink of health’. However, there are some at the bottom of the picture which have wilted and have passed their prime. This is similar to a family, where the wilted flowers may represent our family members (usually the grandparents) who have passed the prime of their years, into retirement age or may have passed on. The flowers in bloom represent the children at present and the orange bits (which I think is the stigma or pollen? =p) represents the continuation of the family unit till future generations.

3. Being a plant, the spider lily is subject to various weather conditions and at times, unfortunate unforeseen circumstances. Yet, in the midst of such adversity, they are able to grow and bloom. This shows the resilience of this flower despite threatening circumstances. I liken this to human beings and life. We are often subject to difficult situations that we have no control over and many times, they threatened to bring us down. However, if we are able to rise above our situations, we will find our characters being molded and strengthened. When we develop resilience in our characters and lives, we are able to stand tall and bloom.

These meanings mentioned are not exhaustive and the list can go on, it all depends on our imagination to look a bit closer and think a bit more. =)