Artificial grass can make your garden look as pretty as a picture. But did you also known it has been used worldwide purely for artistic purposes? As a material it is quite versatile in its application, being used as a canvas and for sculpture. Here are some amazing examples of artificial grass used by artists…
Jane Dickson
Jane Dickson is probably most known for her paintings of the vast interstates and highways of America. They depict the unglamorous scenes of passing powerlines and taillights in the night. She uses all sorts of materials including artificial grass as a canvas. Fake grass has a similar density to natural grass with ‘dead’ tan thatch present, which gives it that thick luscious look. For Dickson this gives her art a dreamy, unusual quality because it’s painted on a raised texture. The artist enjoys the contradiction of the effect, because what could be less dreamy than being stuck in traffic!
Sebastian Di Mauro
Di Maruo creates surreal artificial grass sculptures that range from topiary style structures to cascading waves. One of his collections was called ‘Suburban Abstractions’ and calls upon the strong cultural desire in Australia (where he resides) to have a green backyard. This is despite the fact that there is considerable drought in the country and the majority of people live by the beach. Fake grass is a response to that desire that evokes both realism and surrealism in an almost humorous way. It helps that artificial grass can be fit to almost any shape!
Edible Genius
This artist resides in Brooklyn and has been known to use artificial grass in street art projects. Fake grass portrait silhouettes have been seen stuck up around the neighbourhood. The green contrast against the brick walls and street views in an unexpected way. It’s a comment on the complexity of modern life, and how we grasp for things from the past but recreate them in less authentic ways. One of the interesting things about the art is that if you find it, you can take it home with you. That’s not usually the case with our grass though, we make sure it is securely pinned down before we leave!
If you still have your grass samples, why not use them for an art project? Or if you have some off-cuts left over from your installation, you can use them too!
