When you think about seeds, how frequently do you think about them again? Photographer Levon Biss will make you reconsider these insignificant yet crucial buildings. His series The Hidden Beauty of Seeds and Fruits takes a detailed look at some of the specimens stored in the Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh.
Biss has done an amazing job shooting the tiny details of seeds and fruit. With a surface that resembles dried noodles, the candlestick banksia is one of the more unique specimens in his collection. Split in half, the scoco de mer resembles a divided brain.
Biss, like the rest of us, is fascinated by these seeds and fruits. “There are numerous examples from the project that I find fascinating,” he tells My Modern Met, “but I really enjoy the poetically called Dutchman’s pipe since it clearly reveals its means of seed dissemination, which in this case is by the wind.”
Biss was able to spend a significant amount of time examining the institution’s collection. “It was a delight to photograph the specimens in the herbarium at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, and every now and then you’d find a surprise handwritten letter from the botanist who discovered the specimen, some of which are over 100 years old,” he says. “They’d draw a picture of the spot where the specimen was found, and I’d frequently wonder what the botanist had to go through to get there.” These notes struck me as romantic, and they connected me to the botanist who brought the specimen back to Edinburgh many years before I was born.”
The Hidden Beauty of Seeds and Fruits aspires to be both instructive and artistically appealing. Context is critical for learning. It’s included in Biss’ book of the same name, as well as photographic exhibitions dedicated to the subject. He continues, “Each photograph in the exhibitions and book is accompanied by writing offering context on the species or specimen, including its adaptations, locations, and purposes.” “I believe that imparting information is critical to the success of any undertaking.” I enjoy watching youngsters benefit from the images in the exhibitions and leave a little more conscious of nature and the world in which they are growing up.”
The Hidden Beauty of Seeds and Fruits, now available on Bookshop, features more of Biss’ art and teaches about seeds and fruits.
Levon Biss captures the delicate and often surprising beauty of seeds and fruits in his photographs.
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