Steven Derks: Photographer & Sculptor

Working with plants can often lead someone down new avenues that they would have never expected. For Steven Derks, his plant journey started out with working as a “cactus cop” - Native Plant Specialists who help protect endangered plant species. 

“While I was working for the department, I was photographing plants for a variety of reasons for documentation for the work itself, but it became increasingly more artistic.”

Steven is drawn most to the symmetry of the cactus and succulents he photographs, highlighting that in all of his work. To him, it’s not just about ending up with a pretty photo but about properly capturing that natural structure of the plant. 

“I see the plants in my work as a unifying motif, and it gets expressed by various art techniques. So there's an interesting crossover and to a much less degree it's photography, but to a larger degree, it's botany. And then it leaps over photography and becomes art.”

The process of creating his artwork requires a lot of work that many people might find tedious, but to Steven, it’s almost meditative to take the time to carefully carve out the photos of these plants. 

“And I found that it's so mundane and so routine that it's become mindful or mindless in a way…So I really just kind of zone out. And there are days when I'm stressed that I just look forward to cutting out cactus.”

Check out more of Steven’s work on his website.

A film by Peter Fuhrman.