In ‘Seed Stories,’ Photographer Thierry Ardouin Unveils the Stunning Diversity of Plants
Proteaceae, Banksia grandis Willd., bull banksia. All photographs © Thierry Ardouin/Tendance Floue/MNHN, shared with permission
The premise of life for a lot of species, seeds maintain immense energy for replica and inhabitants. Whether or not a descendent of the primary specimens that appeared roughly 400 million years in the past or a contemporary hybrid cultivated to extend meals manufacturing, the generative types are sometimes visually placing in their very own proper with otherworldly colours, textures, and shapes.
Photographer Thierry Ardouin showcases these marvelous, unusual qualities via lots of of placing macro photographs now compiled in a forthcoming guide and exhibition. Positioned in opposition to stark black or white backdrops, the specimens are primarily derived from the carpological archives of the National Museum of Natural History in Paris, though some come from the Worldwide Agricultural Analysis Centre for Improvement and the Straw Cereal Organic Useful resource Centre. This wide-ranging assortment consists of the veiny, coiled moon trefoil, snake-like scorpion vetch, and small-bur marigold with its prickly physique and horns.
The concept for the undertaking germinated greater than a decade in the past when Ardouin was engaged on a documentary about French agriculture and found that enormous firms personal the patents to many seed varieties. He explains:
In 2009, in a really explicit political context concerning undocumented immigrants, I seen that there have been ‘authorized’ and ‘unlawful’ seeds. The query arose : does a “authorized” seed seem like an “unlawful” seed? However seeds are tiny and, to see them, I needed to get near them and make portraits of them, as I might do for human beings.
He’s documented roughly 500 specimens since, half of which seem within the pages of Seed Tales to be launched this month from Atelier EXB. Spanning 336 pages, the quantity is a testomony to the unimaginable variety and resilience of the pure world. Lots of the photographs are additionally included in a gaggle exhibition opening on June 18 on the CentQuatre Paris, which can pair the pictures with seeds from the Nationwide Museum of Pure Historical past assortment that guests can contact and even style.
Discover extra of Ardouin’s works on his site, and observe his newest initiatives on Instagram.
Clematis delavayi Franch. Ranunculaceae. Clématite
Fabaceae, Hippocrepis scorpioides Benth., Scorpion vetch
Medicago scutellata (L.) Mill. Fabaceae. Luzerne à ècussons.
Asteraceae, Bidens frondosa L., small-bur marigold
Hedysarum glomeratum F. Dietr. Fabaceae. Sainfoin à têtes
Fabaceae, Medicago arborea L., Moon trefoil
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