Rhizomes of Thought is a way of viewing our communities and how we connect.

As a model for society, rhizomes represent planar, horizontal and trans-species connections rather than traditional vertical and hierarchal growth.

This sustainable photography project combines portraiture, and plant propagation, in a community environment. It is a way of creating networks of connections between bodies, ideas, places, and groups, and encouraging people to interact with nature.

For the past few years, I have been propagating and growing a variety of experimental plants species in my garden and local communal spaces. Using a process called chlorophyll printing, I then harness the sun’s UV energy, and the plants’ natural photosynthesis properties, to develop photographic images directly on to the leaves. The leaves then retain these images embedded at a cellular level. Although still ephemeral in nature, they can be preserved, creating connections between people, places and the environment.

Héloïse Bergman is a photographic artist and bookmaker from New Zealand. She initially studied textile design in Wellington, before moving to Tokyo, and eventually London, where she became a photographer for Time Out.

Her personal projects typically evolve over years, using collaborations and experimental processes to explore contemporary and historic notions of identity and our relationship with the land.

Her current work explores sustainable photographic processes within the community, centering around propagating and growing selected plant species and exposing photographic images directly on to their leaves.

Bergman’s work is widely published in books and magazines, and exhibited in galleries and festivals around the world. It is held in permanent library and museum collections, including the V&A and the British Library.