Ackroyd & Harvey on their process of photographic photosynthesis
‘Without the fact that plants photosynthesise we wouldn’t have the atmosphere on this planet… we wouldn’t have life the way we know it’.
As part of the Hayward Gallery exhibition Dear Earth, artists Heather Ackroyd and Dan Harvey have created a series of living portraits through what they call photographic photosynthesis.
The individuals depicted – Love Ssega, Destiny Boka Batesa, Helene Schulze, Julian Lahai-Taylor and Paul Powesland – are each part of London-based climate conscious collectives, and in this video Ackroyd & Harvey explain how these living portraits are constructed and grown in a darkroom through the use of controlled light.
‘It’s sort of perverse, you start by having to nurture the work, and then you put the whole process into reverse and kill it’.
Dear Earth, a group show featuring work from 15 artists, was at Hayward Gallery, 21 June – 3 September, 2023.
From internationally acclaimed artists at Hayward Gallery, to pop-up installations, experience inspiring visual art with us