Mark Edwards, 'Rotting Apples' from the series 'What Has Been Gathered Will Disperse'

Mark Edwards (born 1965)
'Rotting Apples' from the series 'What Has Been Gathered Will Disperse'
2004
C-print
Museum no. E.399-2005
Purchased through the Cecil Beaton Fund

This image of rotten apples lying on a peacock blue carpet was taken in a family garden on a Norfolk nature reserve. The owners use pieces of old carpet, often donated by a neighbouring Buddhist retreat, to cover the ground and keep down the weeds. The decorative juxtaposition of the natural with the man-made moved Mark Edwards to record the carpet as it became integrated into the fabric of the garden. This photograph hints at ideas of contemplation and the passage of time.