JW Fike Exhibition: Photographic Survey of the Wild Edible Botanicals of California

California Poppy, 50″x28″, © JW Fike, 2015. Photographed in Miramonte, CA.

by Deb Shaw

There are a wealth of exhibitions this summer in Southern California that are botanically instructive and inspirational.

One is in South Orange County. Soka University in Aliso Viejo is currently showing JW (Jimmy) Fike’s solo exhibition, Photographic Survey of the Wild Edible Botanicals of California, now through August 26, 2016.

Even though his medium is photography, rather than traditional painting or drawing, the intent behind Fike’s large, stark, beautiful photographs is similar to any botanical artist or illustrator:

“Within my system the plant is excavated, arranged in the studio, photographed, then illustrated digitally in such a way as to render the edible parts in color while the remaining parts, less emphatically, read as contact prints.” [Quote from Soka University website.]

Henbit, 28″x20″, © JW Fike, 2014. Photographed in Miramonte, CA.