“The Ignorant Gardener” is a photographic project inspired by various artistic styles, such as constructivism, ready-made and surrealism. By combining sculpture and photography, the project creates images that do not follow conventional logic, and challenges us to think about gardening in new ways. The project also shows how little today’s generations know about this ancient craft.
In the project, photographer Yurian Quintanas Nobel creates temporary sculptures using objects commonly found in a vegetable garden – such as vegetables, tools and other agricultural implements. These objects are assembled in unexpected ways, focusing on their appearance rather than their function. The sculptures are created on site, with the garden landscape serving as a backdrop. Once the images are taken, each object is returned to its original location.
Each image has a caption that mimics the style often used in gardening books and catalogs, but with a surreal twist that reinforces the project’s message.
Yurian Quintanas Nobel (b. 1983, Amsterdam) is a photographer based in Catalonia. After studying photojournalism at IDEP Barcelona, he assisted photographers from National Geographic before starting his own projects in 2007. He has received several awards and scholarships, including from Vanguardia Magazine, Photoespaña Discoveries, SFR Jeunes Talents and LensCulture Emerging Talent. His work has been published in Burn Magazine, British Journal of Photography and PHMuseum, and exhibited at festivals such as Athens Photo Festival, Paris Photo and Lodz Fotofestiwal.
