Juan Fernando Herrán
Campo G (de la serie Papaver Somniferum) [Field G (from the Papaver Somniferum series)], 1999
Juan Fernando Herrán (1999)
Campo G (de la serie Papaver Somniferum) [Field G (from the Papaver Somniferum series)], 1999
C-print
100 x 100 cm
The photographic series Papaver Somniferum shows fields where the opium poppy flower is grown in the American continent as well as Turkey and the Middle East. Colombian artist Juan Fernando Herrán explores the environmental issues and moral attitudes towards the cultivation of the plant depending on where it is grown. Campo G [Field G] is a work that at first glance could be considered within the tradition of landscape photography. However, the image also shows the latex sap freshly extracted from the seed capsule, used in Colombia for producing heroine. The series also includes police aerial views as well as archival and press images that speak to other social, economic, and political considerations regarding the plant.