The Forsaken
photographic series, 2011-2012
The series consists of images of half-dead, withered house plants photographed against a concrete background. House plants are hybrids between nature and culture; they are living, growing things, but at the same time they are consumer objects, commodities which have been cultivated for consumption and as decoration. When the plants have done their task, or when people fail to care for them, they often end up discarded on the street or in the garbage. This does not only say something about our consumer culture but it also symbolizes a deeper attitude towards nature, as something which can be consumed of and replaced, cultivated and reproduced endlessly.
In the constructed setting of the photographs, the plants are isolated, stripped of any context and seem to pose rather awkwardly in front of the camera. They have an uneasiness about them, which results in a tragicomical appearance; both sad and dryly humorous at the same time.