> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://hyperallergic.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # An Artist Who Cultivates Deadly Plants and Photographs Them - URL: https://hyperallergic.com/carnivorous-plants-photographs-matthew-kaelin/ - Published: 2016-10-20T11:01:03.000Z - Updated: 2025-11-24T16:13:34.000Z - Description: Matthew M. Kaelin takes pictures of carnivorous plants to highlight their beautiful and fatal details. - Author: Allison Meier - Tags: Books, Botanic, environment, Photography, #wp, #wp-post, #image-position-hidden, #Import 2025-11-24 07:23 (2016, 2017, part 2) ![The Sinister Beauty of Carnivorous Plants](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2016/10/carnivorousplants07.jpg) Matthew M. Kaelin, “Voluptuous temptation in carnal bliss” (May 13, 2012), Nepenthes lowii x ventricosa ‘The Succubus’ cultivar (courtesy the artist) [Matthew M. Kaelin](http://www.mkaelin.com/?ref=hyperallergic.com) cultivates the beautiful, fatal subjects of his photographs in his Long Island home. He then frames each rosy jaw of a Venus flytrap, gaping leaf of a pitcher plant, and spiky tentacle of king sundew in macro photographs that highlight the deadly nature of these [carnivorous plants](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carnivorous%5Fplant?ref=hyperallergic.com). ![The Sinister Beauty of Carnivorous Plants](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2016/10/carnivorousplants01.jpg) Cover of ‘The Sinister Beauty of Carnivorous Plants’ (courtesy Schiffer) “This is meant to bring the observer into the world of the plants from the viewpoint of their prey and to create a window into a dimension of bizarre creatures and alien landscapes,” Kaelin told Hyperallergic. Over 140 of his photographs have been collected and published in [*The Sinister Beauty of Carnivorous Plants*](https://www.amazon.com/dp/0764350986/?tag=hyperallergic-20&ref=hyperallergic.com)*,* released earlier this year by [Schiffer](http://www.schifferbooks.com/the-sinister-beauty-of-carnivorous-plants-6000.html?ref=hyperallergic.com). Kaelin had been interested in the plants, which feed on insects and other animals, since he was young, but it was only in 2003 that he began to actively grow and propagate them. He’s created award-winning horticultural displays and even published two *Nepenthes* (pitcher plant) [cultivars](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultivar?ref=hyperallergic.com), meaning a plant spawned through careful human selection. One of these — the *Nepenthes* ‘H.R. Giger’ — is seen in the book as a creature with strange, seductive curves not unlike those of a Giger [xenomorph](http://aliens.wikia.com/wiki/Xenomorph?ref=hyperallergic.com) from the *Alien* movies. While the fly that falls on the curling leaf of *Drosera capensis* or the insect that tumbles into the dark red well of *Cephalotus follicularis* doesn’t know its error until it’s too late, the photographs give the viewer hints of the plants’ deadly attraction. ![The Sinister Beauty of Carnivorous Plants](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2016/10/carnivorousplants06.jpg) Matthew M. Kaelin, “Scourge across the plains of Hades” (November 9, 2013), Nepenthes lowii x spectabilis ‘H.R. Giger’ cultivar (courtesy the artist) “As an artist, at first the project with these plants was completely separate,” Kaelin explained. “I had been working on an unrelated painting series for a number of years that was gaining in momentum and sophistication. During this time, and after a number of years of cultivating carnivorous plants at home and casually photographing them, I eventually set forth to create a personal glimpse into their bizarre world.” Along with his deadly garden, Kaelin started exploring and photographing the wild carnivorous plants of Long Island in 2012\. There are actually varieties of carnivorous plants on every continent but Antarctica, and conservation is a concern. In the text by Kaelin that accompanies the photographs in *The Sinister Beauty,* he highlights which of the specimens are endangered in the wild. All of this is aimed at, as he puts it, “truly providing the opportunity for exploring education and conservation in the spirit of creating a convergence between the disciplines of fine art and natural history, with a positive impact on the subject that I love so dearly.” ![The Sinister Beauty of Carnivorous Plants](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2016/10/carnivorousplants12.jpg) Artist as child, with first venus flytrap (courtesy the artist) ![The Sinister Beauty of Carnivorous Plants](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2016/10/carnivorousplants02.jpg) Matthew M. Kaelin, “Gnash” (September 5, 2013), Dionaea muscipula B52 cultivar (courtesy the artist) ![The Sinister Beauty of Carnivorous Plants](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2016/10/carnivorousplants03.jpg) Matthew M. Kaelin, “Hypnotic massive oppression” (June 9, 2013), Drosera regia (courtesy the artist) ![The Sinister Beauty of Carnivorous Plants](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2016/10/carnivorousplants04.jpg) Matthew M. Kaelin, “Supple flesh to ripple wet” (October 21, 2012), Pinguicula moranensis (courtesy the artist) ![The Sinister Beauty of Carnivorous Plants](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2016/10/carnivorousplants05.jpg) Matthew M. Kaelin, “The Moloch must be obeyed” (February 15, 2014), Cephalotus follicularis (courtesy the artist) ![The Sinister Beauty of Carnivorous Plants](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2016/10/carnivorousplants08.jpg) Matthew M. Kaelin, “Fluttering movements in the elegant dance with death” (September 30, 2012), Dionaea muscipula (courtesy the artist) ![The Sinister Beauty of Carnivorous Plants](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2016/10/carnivorousplants09.jpg) Matthew M. Kaelin, “Drosera filiformis in dune swale habitat” (Long Island, New York, June 15, 2013) (courtesy the artist) ![The Sinister Beauty of Carnivorous Plants](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2016/10/carnivorousplants10.jpg) Matthew M. Kaelin, “Sarracenia purpurea on floating Sphagnum mat in pond” (Long Island, New York, July 28, 2015) (courtesy the artist) ![The Sinister Beauty of Carnivorous Plants](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2016/10/carnivorousplants11.jpg) Matthew M. Kaelin, “Nepenthes display at Tower Hill Botanic Gardens” (September 11, 2016) (courtesy the artist) *Matthew M. Kaelin’s* [The Sinister Beauty of Carnivorous Plants](https://www.amazon.com/dp/0764350986/?tag=hyperallergic-20&ref=hyperallergic.com) *is out now from* [*Schiffer*](http://www.schifferbooks.com/the-sinister-beauty-of-carnivorous-plants-6000.html?ref=hyperallergic.com)*.*