The Living Grove · A journey through the world of Paradise Shoman

Ordinary things. A world unfolding.

Step into the world of Paradise Shoman, where overlooked materials find another life through art. Follow the places, memories, and moments behind her work—then discover what takes shape.

Explore the story

Scroll to exploreSwipe up to explore

Belonging

A tree in a new city

In 2019 Paradise Shoman arrived in Braga, in the north of Portugal, and a tree she passed became the start of a painting.

She grew up in a family where her mother, aunts and grandmother encouraged her in painting, crafts, home decoration, and clothing and furniture design. That habit of making came with her.

Each time she passed the tree she gathered its leaves and petals. They went into Petals of Love, painted with acrylic and watercolour on canvas.

“In 2019, newly arrived in Portugal, I was mesmerized by a tree whose leaves exuded an ethereal beauty.”

Paradise Shoman, Petals of Love, artwork story on the Orphic Herz website

Paradise Shoman in a formal garden on a grey day, holding a black umbrella — Paradise Shoman in a garden, March 2024.Read the story View the artwork

Nature

Walking through autumn

Wherever she has lived, trees and the sea have stayed close to her.

Autumn Dance comes from walks through a nearby park, where every step on the fallen leaves crackled. In Kahwatti the leaves themselves are part of the picture, set into the surface with ink, chocolate and coffee.

“When I see a tree, I see a piece of art.”

Paradise Shoman, About page, Orphic Herz website

Fallen autumn leaves on a wet pavement.Read the story View the artwork

Making

Coffee, chocolate and paper

Her materials are often things most people would throw away or eat.

Paper is stained with coffee and left to dry. Chocolate, mandarin peel, thyme, real leaves and petals and recycled paper become colour and texture.

Works such as Earth Harmony and Flow of Serenity are built from these materials, layer by layer.

Coffee-stained paper pieces and scraps on a work surface — Coffee-dyed paper drying on the work table.Read the story View the artwork

Dusk

Magical nights

Some of her work begins at night.

Strawberry Rush grew out of one such night, drawn in ink and pencil on a wooden board. Nocturnal Bloom was painted on an inspired night in 2018 with thyme seeds, watercolour, chocolate and coffee, and renewed with a new frame in 2024.

A golden light glowing in the dark, with the silhouettes of plants and a bottle against it — Golden light and plant silhouettes at night.Read the story View the artwork

Revelation

Art among the trees

In Braga her work has hung in the open air, tied to the branches of a park tree.

Paintings and drawings on paper, hung with ribbon among the leaves, at an outdoor art market photographed in December 2023. The grove and the gallery become the same place.