Portuguese artist Alexandre Farto, also known as Vhils, has been commissioned to create an artwork that will “challenge people's preconceptions” of weeds and their medicinal properties.
Having found similar connections between weeds and graffiti art, British arts incubator NOMAD's co-founder Michael Smythe explained that “weeds are basically a plant growing in the wrong place, just as graffiti is an artwork or method of communication that exists outside conventional institution,”. He added, “To my eyes there's a direct relationship between street art and weeds, between wild plants, graffiti, urban environments, communication and culture”.
A nature preserve has been built for the Phytology project that allows visitors to “explore and freely harvest” the wild plants and weeds to “produce their own plant-based remedies and teas”.
Vhils uses diagrams of the “molecular structures related to medicinal plants” to depict his artwork that covers a church wall.
More information about the “Phytology” project can be found here.
Visit the artist's website for more pictures of his chiseled murals.
[via psfk]