Nachtschade
In Nachtschade, Heleen Haijtema explores a plant family that is both familiar and dangerous.
The nightshade family includes vegetables we eat every day, like potatoes and tomatoes, but also poisonous plants like datura and black nightshade. This mix—safe and deadly—makes the plants interesting for her. Haijtema often photographs them at night, using very little flash. This creates quiet, mysterious images, where the plants seem to exist in their own world. Her photographs show how we can look at plants in many different ways—as food, danger, or beauty. The project reflects on how our connection with plants is changing, especially now that farming and technology are becoming more closely linked.
