Sam Falls is inspired by nature’s unpredictability in living works for Ruinart

Working with nature is a collaborative process for artist Sam Falls, who lets the unpredictability of the elements guide him in his practice. Falls’ method of weaving nature throughout his work made him a natural partner for Ruinart, which invites artists to interpret their environment as part of the Conversations with Nature series. Falls’ works, which hover between photography and painting, transform with the fluctuations of the weather. Laying plants and pigment on linen out in the open, he lets nature dictate the results. Here, Falls tells us about his artistic process.

Sam Falls on working in the vineyards for Ruinart

Wallpaper*: Can you tell us why working with Ruinart was a natural move for you?

Sam Falls: I was drawn to the reverence Ruinart has for nature. They had already chosen the title, Conversations with Nature, so it was an obvious fit, but we had to have a dialogue about working with nature through art and creating a collectible object. I have to be sensitive not to objectify nature – instead, I want popularise it in the context of an aesthetic experience.

W*: What did you enjoy about visiting the vineyards?

SF: The vineyards were amazing. It is a unique place where there are centuries of agriculture, and so it is this different type of old-growth landscape that is more human-made, but it's very significant to the place, which I really appreciate. It's iconic to be able to use leaves from the vineyard in the work.

W*: How would you describe your work?

SF: It's not painting, because I'm not using a brush, or paint even, and it's not photography. It's more something that's grown out of my interest in both, merging them to find a way to represent a place. The works are life-sized; they feel very connected to the place where they were made.

W*: How did you begin working on this project?

SF: I was sent images before I got there, so I had an idea of what was possible. The unique thing about Ruinart is that they have begun this biodiversity project, because over time, the vineyards – like any farm – start to deplete and take over all the other native species, and so [Ruinart has] little areas of forest around the vineyards that they've maintained. They have also started replanting within the vineyards themselves, to create wind barriers, but also to return to the natural biodiversity. So it was a perfect place to have access to native plants, as well as the vineyard. And I knew going into it that I could use these. And so I showed up in October, and made it work.

W*: What was it like to be working in that environment?

SF: You really start to be one with a place and connect with the movements of the wildlife. And it all becomes its own unique experience. It was very peaceful. It was just me there. There were these giant flocks of migrating birds every evening; that was just amazing. And then sometimes at night, they would all take flight right next to me, and it would be spooky.

W*: What is your favourite thing about the process?

SF: In these works, rain and humidity are important – they are done as soon as they dry. If it rains for three days, it's three days until they are dry. But some dry overnight, or in two nights. And then I do multiple layers. So I'll [take] off the plants when they die, and then [add] another one that gets saturated, again [creating] a different image. Sometimes the works take a few months, and sometimes a couple of days.

It is such a collaboration with nature that [the result can be unknown], like in photography, where you might have a light leak, and you don't know what the image is until you develop it in the darkroom. That element of chance is what makes it interesting to me.

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