Jardin des Plantes

Paris’ Jardin des Plantes, first developed in 1626, is home to a massive collection of botanical species from around the world.  Using giant glass greenhouses and the locale’s sunny/shady/hilly/flat terrain, there are now over 4,000 individual plants to be found amidst its 64 acres.  The near-mythological history of the site includes a vast medicinal herb garden grown by the order of King Louis XIII for the benefit of all 17th century Parisians, one of Europe’s first menageries–a zoo in which almost all of the animals were eaten by a starving populace in the late 19th century, and the underground route of Paris’ “hidden” river, the Bièvre.

The beauty to be found in this historic place is evident upon entering the grounds, as is the mystery to be found within the plants that grow and thrive there.  Four centuries of horticultural development have resulted in one of the grandest open spaces to be found in the world today.  Many of the trees to be found on site started their lives as seedlings in the 18th century; many of the herbaceous perennials have grown in their current places for decades.  One can only imagine the disparate lives of the millions of visitors who have come to see the garden’s flora and fauna over the past 400 years.

My photographs of the Jardin des Plantes concentrate on both the long history of the site and the fleeting nature of the subject.  The use of saturated color and low camera angles give the works a flower’s- or insect’s-eye view of the world, exaggerating the importance of the relatively insignificant subject.  I generally do not include specific points of reference that would explicate how large the viewer is relative to the subject or even where the viewer should be located within the scene. The lack of all-over focus–with minimal concentration on specific, intentional areas—adds to the notion of history and memory of the site.