July 11, 2010 | Arts / Entertainment

Pansies for gay victims

Paul Harfleet's Pansy Project has been recognized by Royal Horticultural Society with a gold medal for 'best conceptual garden at Hampton Court' this week.

Harfleet, an artist, creates his art installations/memorials as a gesture of "quiet resistance." Whenever he hears of a homophobic attack, he finds a spot with soil close to the incident and plants a single pansy. He then takes a picture and gives the image a name like 'Fucking Faggot' and 'Let's Kill the Batty Man.'

However, the title is less aggressive if an actual murder took place. In the case of an 18-year-old Liverpool hairdresser who was killed in an attack, Harfleet named the image 'Liverpool, For Michael Causer.'

The winning garden is an extension of the project, Harfleet said. The concrete structure laced with pansies is a "politically-driven living memorial that seeks to represent the effects of homophobic hate crimes on contemporary society."

"I am absolutely delighted that we have won Best Conceptual Garden," he said. "What started as a small-scale autobiographical artwork has successfully crossed over into horticulture.

More of Mr Harfleet's work can be seen at thepansyproject.com.