Jac de Villier’s Plant Portraits

WORDS Michaela Stehr IMAGES Jac de Villiers

Photographer Jac de Villiers creates exquisite portraits of a different nature.

Jac de Villiers is known for his portraits… of people. Then, a couple of years ago, he swapped human subjects for plants when he collaborated with chef Kobus van der Merwe on Strandveldfood, a book dedicated to cooking with indigenous plants of the West Coast. Jac photographed the plants – both edible and inspirational – in their natural habitat over a period of four seasons. This sparked the idea to bring succulents into the studio and shoot them in portrait format.

“I photograph succulents in my studio using dramatic lighting and a flat-grey background to highlight the form of the plants,” Jac says. “I have the same lighting approach when photographing people and plants, but that’s where the similarity ends. You have to engage a person – the success of the portrait depends on this interaction. A plant, on the other hand, doesn’t talk back. The term ‘plant portrait’ is really tongue in cheek.”

To capture and highlight the appeal of every blemish in the plant’s state of decomposition, there’s no editing in post-production. “I don’t sanitise the process by using Photoshop retouching to hide ‘imperfections’,” Jac says. “There’s often beauty in botanical decay.”

He prints his images with esteemed printer Tony Meintjes, using giclée printing on fine art paper.

For prices and information about exhibitions, go to Jac’s website at jacdevilliers.com.