The tomato is the most cultivated vegetable in the Netherlands, second only to the potato. Tomatoes are easy to grow yourself and are moreover beautiful plants. Yet we almost never come across a tomato plant in our everyday surroundings. Tomatoes are cultivated in the Westland among other places, in large industrial greenhouses that can supply fresh tomatoes from March to December. Our Westland tomatoes are exported to Russia for example, and the tomatoes on the shelves of greengrocers in The Hague may come from Morocco or Spain. In short, the tomato as product is totally disconnected from time and location in our perception, in that it may be obtained throughout the year and is imported and exported across the globe. It is exactly this connection to location and time which is given a central place in the project Tomato Habitus.

Five variously suitable production environments for tomatoes were selected in and around The Hague: an industrial greenhouse in the Westland, a hobby greenhouse, an urban garden and a roof terrace in the inner city, and a shop window in a shopping street. In preparation, twenty five little tomato plants (Solanum lycopersicum 'Dirk') were grown from seed in equivalent circumstances. Five of these little tomato plants were bedded out at the same time in each of the environments chosen. From that moment on, each plant became a reflection of its habitat. Differences in temperature, light, atmospheric humidity, precipitation, soil structure and care are expressed in the growth process of each separate tomato plant. These factors influence the habitus (form of appearance and behaviour) of the plant: root capacity, foliation, flowering, fruit yield and the taste of the ultimate tomato. In order to portray these local differences in environment, a photograph is made at each location every day, and relayed via the internet. Each new photograph of the plants in their environment is added to their existing series. The films are thus updated with new material every day, from the very beginning through to the plant’s harvesting and decomposition. The films-in-progress make the differences and the similarities of the divergent processes of growth visible.

Tomato Habitus is a project by the artist couple Driessens & Verstappen, developed for Foodprint, and has been made possible thanks to Productschap Tuinbouw.

Thanks to Stroom, Plantenkwekerij Grootscholten, Enza Zaden, Tomatoworld, Gezonde Gronden, Stadsklooster Den Haag, Jane Huldman, Bram Esser and all caretakers.