Seeds and fruits photographed at the Millennium Seed Bank, © Charlie Hopkinson.
Seeds and fruits photographed at the Millennium Seed Bank, © Charlie Hopkinson.
Seeds and fruits photographed at the Millennium Seed Bank, © Charlie Hopkinson.
Seeds and fruits photographed at the Millennium Seed Bank, © Charlie Hopkinson.
Seeds and fruits photographed at the Millennium Seed Bank, © Charlie Hopkinson.
Seeds and fruits photographed at the Millennium Seed Bank, © Charlie Hopkinson.
Seeds and fruits photographed at the Millennium Seed Bank, © Charlie Hopkinson.
'SEEDS: Time Capsules of Life', Kesseler & Stuppy (Papadakis)
'SEEDS: Time Capsules of Life', Kesseler & Stuppy (Papadakis)
'SEEDS: Time Capsules of Life', Kesseler & Stuppy (Papadakis)
'SEEDS: Time Capsules of Life', Kesseler & Stuppy (Papadakis)
'SEEDS: Time Capsules of Life', Kesseler & Stuppy (Papadakis)
'SEEDS: Time Capsules of Life', Kesseler & Stuppy (Papadakis)
'SEEDS: Time Capsules of Life', Kesseler & Stuppy (Papadakis)
'SEEDS: Time Capsules of Life', Kesseler & Stuppy (Papadakis)
'SEEDS: Time Capsules of Life', Kesseler & Stuppy (Papadakis)
'SEEDS: Time Capsules of Life', Kesseler & Stuppy (Papadakis)
'SEEDS: Time Capsules of Life', Kesseler & Stuppy (Papadakis)
'SEEDS: Time Capsules of Life', Kesseler & Stuppy (Papadakis)
'SEEDS: Time Capsules of Life', Kesseler & Stuppy (Papadakis)
'SEEDS: Time Capsules of Life', Kesseler & Stuppy (Papadakis)
Henry Moore was fascinated by natural forms, and as he walked would pick up bark, stone, bone and seeds, intending to turn them into sculpture. At Kew we share this love — scientists at our Millennium Seed Bank have already collected a billion different seeds!
Interview with an artist and a scientist
Wolfgang Stuppy is a Kew scientist who studies and 'banks' seeds at Kew's Millennium Seed Bank — the largest wild seed bank in the world. As part of his work, he takes images of them with a powerful scanning electron microscope. Charlie Hopkinson is an experienced photographer commissioned by the Millennium Seed Bank to create beautiful black-and-white interpretations of their fruits and seeds. We spoke to both of them.
Wolfgang, what surprised you when you saw the seeds close-up?
The degree of sophistication. The symmetry. And the sheer beauty of the structure of seed surfaces is incredible.
What do you learn?
I learn about the wondrous diversity of nature. The breathtaking beauty of these seeds has evolved not for aethestic reasons, but to create masterpieces of biological engineering.
How does a botanist see the world?
With green eyes! Recognizing the plants that grow around us certainly changes your view of the places you visit. Being able to distinguish between introduced and native plants helps you understand your environment, and makes every ramble through nature an adventure!
How can we see the world more like you?
Get to know the wildflowers and other plants that grow around you. As you get close, you will discover a love for life that will enable you to appreciate the true disaster of losing a plant (or animal) species for ever.
Charlie, what are you thinking about when you're preparing to shoot a still life like these seeds and fruits?
That the surface they are on will not be too obtrusive, followed by the size of the seeds in the frame (the composition), and then it's all about lighting.
How did you shoot them?
I was on location at the Seed Bank with a 5x4 plate camera, b&w film, and using daylight only. Most exposures were about 30 seconds long. Mostly I'm praying that it will be in focus, and I don't jog the tripod by mistake. Everything in a plate camera is the wrong way round when you look through it which takes a bit of getting used to.
What do you like about natural forms like these?
Seeds in particular are beautiful, and often offer wonderful symmetry. Nature in its rawest form is irresistible to me for form, texture and detail. But the symmetry is the visual thing for me.
'SEEDS: Time Capsules of Life', by Rob Kesseler and Wolfgang Stuppy, is available from the Kew bookshop. Charlie Hopkinson is a professional photographer available for commissions and private sales. Visit his website.
Even the seemingly abstract works are derived from the natural world, inspired by the curvature of a bone, the texture of driftwood, internal coils of a sea shell or smooth pointed shapes of flints found in the fields surrounding Moore’s Hertfordshire home.
It is the artist’s life-long exploration of natural forms that makes Kew, with its immense array of varied foliage throughout the changing seasons, so perfectly suited to his outdoor work.
For myself I have always been very interested in landscape. (I can never read on a train — I have to look out of the window in case I miss something.)