Casting a cinematic lens on high-tech food landscapes

In January 2025, filmmaker and photographer Tim Grabham joined EatThis for a one-week artist residency. The result: a thought-provoking and visually striking exploration of how plants, fungi, and humans interact in high-tech, controlled environments. His residency marks the first phase of his new artistic documentary: Flora and Funga – Life in Artificial Habitats.

© Plantenkwekerij Gitzels

A different view on greenhouses
Modern greenhouses are full of innovation: LED lighting, robotics, data-driven growth systems. But through Tim's lens, they become more than technical spaces. They turn into strange, beautiful environments where nature and technology are constantly negotiating with each other.

He captured rows of plants growing without soil, glowing under pink light, or being gently moved by conveyor belts. His photos are calm and poetic, but at the same time, they make you stop and ask: what is really happening here?

© Plantenkwekerij Gitzels

Tim's perspective offers a valuable mirror to the world of high-tech food production. By looking through the eyes of an artist, we can see how familiar systems suddenly feel new and maybe even a bit alien. He reminds us not just to improve technology, but to ask bigger questions: What does it mean for a plant to live here? And what does it mean for us?

Tim, Your work explores how we perceive non-human life. How do you think art can help change the way we see plants?
"Something that has always inspired me about art is the way it can offer alternative perspectives to the familiar lens with which we view the world around us, and how it can pose questions where the objective is more about planting a seed of thought rather than giving a definitive answer. The modern industrialised mindset has largely reduced the more-than-human world to that of a commodity, detaching our species from critical relationships, priorities of care and mutually beneficial co-existence. Plants are remarkable complex living systems capable of things we are far from fully understanding, and there is a wonder which I think art can help tap into to give an audience a sense of awe about the organisms around us that are so often overlooked."

© Plantenkwekerij Gitzels

More than a technical story
High-tech horticulture may seem predictable, even controlled. But the reality is: we still know very little about the organisms we grow every day.

As one researcher said during Tim's visit: "We only know 1% of the fruit, 0.5% of the leaf and stem, and 0.00001% of the root."

We may be able to guide how plants grow, but we don't fully understand how they think, feel or communicate. That tension between control and mystery is exactly what Tim's work captures.

© Plantenkwekerij Gitzels

As Tim writes, "We don't simply share a world with plants and fungi. They make us who we are."

Tim, What surprised you most about the way plants are grown in high-tech greenhouses?
"What is most surprising for me is that in the greenhouse so much is absent - such as soil and microbial relationships - yet despite this the plants still manage to grow and flourish. It speaks volumes about the complex evolutionary ingenuity of these living systems and their adaptability. But also, from the moment the seeds are awakened in the greenhouse, the plants are in a sense programmable lifeforms - where certain light frequencies initiate specific growth and a tailored recipe of nutrients, heat and water causes an almost absolute uniformity to the plants in their appearance, height, rate of growth and colour. It is quite surreal seeing such an expansive landscape of almost identical organisms in these huge structures."

© Plantenkwekerij Gitzels

Tim returns in November – Join the Film
Tim will return to the Netherlands in November 2025 to begin production on a short film version of Flora and Funga. This will bring together his footage, photography, sound recordings, and conversations from the greenhouse world. Are you working in high-tech food production, design, farming, or research—and do you want to collaborate? Get in touch with EatThis or connect with Tim directly via timgrabham.com.