Gradient Food Displays: Artist Showcases Uncommon Biodiversity

Everyone that has gone grocery shopping must be familiar with the mundane fruits section. Arranged, there is typical produce like potatoes and apples. Although they might come in different shades, they are basically the same type.

However, a German contemporary artist discovered there was more than meets the eye when he visited a local market in Berlin. He saw a wide range of irregularly shaped and colored produce you’ll never see on American aisles. This discovery led him to launch a project called Cultivar Series to highlight the food diversity neglected in America.

The project features images of single species or variations of a particular crop type, arranged in a gradient according to their colors and shapes to form a large oval. He has worked with items like pears, peppers, tomatoes, and potatoes.

According to the artist, his objective is to expose the diversity of these products to the world that people will not see in their everyday lives. It is apparent that commercial market stakeholders have curated their stock to fit a particular aesthetic of shape and color that these variants don’t fit into.

He further claims that beyond filtering specific variants from the commercial markets, this suppression has extended to agricultural processes. Only a few variants of certain products deemed good-looking are even planted and distributed.

This project has gone a long way in showcasing the beauty of food diversity. The artist has employed various media, such as installations, sculptures, and drawings, but his photographs have been the most sensational. You can purchase copies of these images on his website. You can also follow him on his social media handles to get the latest updates on this paradigm-shifting project.