Being here

Plants present a stark contrast to man made urban structures, yet they have inspired architecture and ornamentation since ancient times. The old master builders were familiar with the structural secrets of plants and relied on their timeless structural laws. This knowledge has largely been lost in the acceleration of modernity to the point that, nowadays, plants are often overlooked.

Their beauty is founded on complex mathematical principles and the static forces they exert. For example, spiral growth in a plant echoes the same formula that modulates the energy of galaxies, invisible atomic structures and gothic architecture, which seems to confirm our fascination with them as a valuable source of knowledge. They transcend mere decorative appeal because they embody a deeper meaning for us. Increasingly challenged by wars, commercial interests, population explosions and migration crises, we have become inclined to negate the importance of integrating sufficient interaction with green habitats in and around cities. Our innate yearning for this lacking necessity explains why some people gravitate to emerging “Green” political parties, whose agendas are not always as sound as the name implies.

“Being here” is essentially about overlooked greenery. Each work intends to distract us from dimmed, absent-minded perception amid the noise of daily influences and habits by making us notice plants in a way that feels as though we are seeing them for the first time. Ultimately they nudge us towards noticing greens and green spaces anew by creating a moment of silence in which to really see and reflect on their energetic being and their pure, material-immaterial sensibility. Their “dematerialized” nature lures us into a state of personal meditation about balancing man made structures with much needed living structures in a natural rhythm across polarised modern life situations. They hope to accomplish consideration of healthier, sustainable architectural and natural environments, with due consideration to think and act for future generations.

This photographic series comprises dreamy, layered images of plants, some as classic single exposures and others in multiple exposure. They extend the visual experience with a painterly approach to capture the connection between the physical- and non-physical world; between the outer- and inner world. Plants are elevated as “transformative and sculptural abstractions” of pure existence and function as a microcosmos representing the macrocosmos. The Fibonacci sequence blends complex visual algorithms into seamless shapes with quantum fields of movement. They invite us to choose a more harmonious and sustainable way forward in spite of the thrust of relentless globalisation that chooses long term destruction for short term profit.

Title Being here (#1-15)
Year 2011
Fine art prints  Hahnemühle 100% cotton paper
Size/cm 30×30 and 50×50
Editions 3+2AP