{"id":677,"date":"2023-10-12T10:00:41","date_gmt":"2023-10-12T10:00:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dimensionfx.net\/?p=677"},"modified":"2023-11-23T08:19:23","modified_gmt":"2023-11-23T08:19:23","slug":"an-ambitious-series-of-portraits-by-uli-westphal-captures-the-character-of-every-edible-plant-seed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/dimensionfx.net\/index.php\/2023\/10\/12\/an-ambitious-series-of-portraits-by-uli-westphal-captures-the-character-of-every-edible-plant-seed\/","title":{"rendered":"An Ambitious Series of Portraits by Uli Westphal Captures the Character of Every Edible Plant Seed"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"A<\/p>\n

Top row, left to right: Aronia melanocarpia (black chokeberry), Atriplex hortensis (orache), and Avena sativa (oat). Second row: Averrhoa carambola (star fruit), Basella alba (malabar spinach), and Beta vulgaris (beet root). Third row: Betula pendula (birch), Borago officinalis (borage), and Brassica juncea (brown mustard). Bottom row: Brassica oleracea (cabbage), Cajanus cajan (pigeon pea), and Calendula officinalis (marigold). All images \u00a9 Uli Westphal, shared with permission<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

From the fuzzy casing of the levant cotton seed to the speckled scarlet runner bean to the star-shaped pod of the aptly named star anise, the minuscule sources of the world’s edible plants take center stage in photographer Uli Westphal<\/a>\u2019s newest project. Fascinated by food systems (previously<\/a>) and the myriad ways we have adapted botanicals to our needs, the artist showcases the phenomenal diversity of plants, or in this case, their tiny origins. In the ongoing Seeds\u00a0<\/em>series, he creates a collective portrait of all edible plants, capturing incredible textures and colors in micro-photographic detail.<\/p>\n

While other projects include amassing large quantities of produce, he started focusing on a collection of crop seeds during the pandemic, many of which he accumulated over the years. Currently, he has about 400 species, with a shortlist of 3,000 considered highly edible. Varying in shape, size, color, and texture, the specimens require a setup that allows Westphal to capture every minute characteristic.<\/p>\n

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\"A<\/p>\n

Carica papaya (papaya)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Because the seeds are often so tiny they’re impossible to capture with traditional camera lenses, Westphal added high-resolving microscope objectives\u2014the magnifying part of the microscope lens closest to the object\u2014to his camera. The objectives have an extremely shallow depth of field, so he built a machine that moves the camera a few micrometers at a time, allowing him to take hundreds of images of each seed. These individual shots are used to create one composite image in which the entire seed is in focus.”It’s a time consuming but rewarding process that reveals a world that would otherwise remain invisible to the naked eye,” he says.<\/p>\n

Westphal considers this body of work, in addition to others like the Cultivar Series<\/a>, “<\/em>infinite projects that I intend to pursue and expand for as long as I’m around…I believe we need this knowledge to raise awareness, celebrate, and safeguard this botanic cornucopia.”<\/p>\n

If you’re in The Netherlands, you can see some of the images in the exhibition Spacefarming<\/em> at the Evoluon<\/a> in Eindhoven, which continues through March 2024. Westphal is currently working on a project site to accompany the series, but in the meantime, you can explore some of his other projects on his website<\/a>, and follow updates on Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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\"A<\/p>\n

Illicium verum (star anise)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\"Photographs<\/p>\n

Top row, left to right: Opuntia ficus indica (prickly pear), Origanum vulgare (oregano), and Oryza sativa (rice). Middle row: Panicum miliaceum (millet), Papaver somniferum (bread seed poppy), and Passiflora edulis (maracuja). Bottom row: Passiflora quadrangularis (giant granadilla), Pastinaca sativa (parsnip), and Pennisetum americanum (pearl millet)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Centaurea cyanus (cornflower)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Cucurbita ficifoli (fig leaf gourd)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Gossypium herbaceum (levant cotton)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Elettaria cardamomum (kardamon)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Ribes rubrum (redcurrant)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Phaseolus coccineus (scarlet runner bean)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member<\/a> today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $5 per month. The article An Ambitious Series of Portraits by Uli Westphal Captures the Character of Every Edible Plant Seed<\/a> appeared first on Colossal<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Top row, left to right: Aronia melanocarpia (black chokeberry), Atriplex […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":679,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[14],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/dimensionfx.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/677"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/dimensionfx.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/dimensionfx.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/dimensionfx.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/dimensionfx.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=677"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/dimensionfx.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/677\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":702,"href":"http:\/\/dimensionfx.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/677\/revisions\/702"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/dimensionfx.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/679"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/dimensionfx.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=677"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/dimensionfx.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=677"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/dimensionfx.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=677"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}