Surrey, England-based Heather Ackroyd and Dan Harvey take something we all take for granted, grass, and turn it into a fascinating medium for artistic expression. Their unique portraits are created by exposing plots of seedling grass to light through a custom-made negative, making the grass grow in different shades, from yellow to green. Basically, they harness the process of photosynthesis and capture chlorophyll to fix images to growing grass.
Wait just a couple of weeks and you'll slowly start to see faces emerge. Wait too long and these images start to disappear, just like a photograph will eventually fade.
Harvey says about their chosen medium, “The grass has a certain importance because of the simplicity of the blade. By nature it slightly grows towards the light.”
Interestingly, this artistic duo is behind History Trees, a collection of semi-mature trees that will be at this year's London Olympics. Each tree has a bespoke metal ring suspended in the crown engraved with words specific to the history of each site. Ten total will be installed, marking all of the main entrances to the 500-acre Olympic Park.
