Pansy Project Wins Royal Horticultural Society Gold Medal

The Pansy Project has won a Gold Medal at RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show and has been named Best Conceptual Garden 2010.

An initiative by artist Paul Harfleet, the project marks the site of homophobic abuse by planting pansies. Each location is photographed and named after the abuse received; image above left "You Queer Cunt!" planted for Scally Dandan, Manchester.

The winning garden is a first time collaboration with garden designer and brother of the artist Tom Harfleet. Together they have designed a confrontational 'shattered' structure made of slabs of concrete placed at various gradients and under-planted with a total of four thousand pansies. This is intended to metaphorically reflect the disruptive nature of homophobic hate crime on contemporary society.

Paul Harfleet said if his award: "We're all thrilled and slightly overwhelmed. The response by the public visiting the show has been amazing."

The Hampton Court Palace Flower show runs until Sunday.

The Pansy Project
Flower power fights homophobia, the Guardian -7 July 2010

(picture courtesy of the Project)