mathilde roussel: hanging living grass sculptures

‘lives of grass’ by mathilde roussel all images © matthieu raffard

paris-based designer mathilde roussel has conceived an installation consisting of living grass sculptures that show the effects of transformation of material as a metaphor of the growing changes of the body. made of recycled metal and fabric structures filled with soil and wheat seeds, time sculpts the forms, changing its shape through decay. the project references egyptian mythology, where osiris, the god of renewal, eternally comes back to life. he is the personification of the fertile land and the natural cycles: death and rebirth, dryness and fertility. in the natural world, ingested food becomes a component of human being. these anthropomorphic and organic bodies made of earth strive to show that food, and its nutrients have an impact on us beyond our direct perception. the power inside it affects every organ of our body. observing nature and being aware of what and how we eat might make us more sensitive to food cycles in the world — of abundance, of famine – and allows us to be physically, intellectually and spiritually connected to a global reality. 

lives of grass, soil, wheat seeds, structure from recycled metal, fabric

lives of grass, soil, wheat seeds, structure from recycled metal, fabric

lives of grass, soil, wheat seeds, structure from recycled metal, fabric, 

lives of grass, soil, wheat seeds, structure from recycled metal, fabric

lives of grass, soil, wheat seeds, structure from recycled metal, fabric

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.