Mutato is a project by German artist Uli Westphal that captures a images of a collection of non-standard fruits, roots & vegetables. The produce displays a confounding variety of shapes and forms that result from natural, botanical anomalies, which rarely (if ever) make their way onto grocery store shelves. According to Westphal:

The complete absence of botanical anomalies in our supermarkets has caused us to regard the consistency of produce presented there as natural. Produce has become a highly designed, monotonous product. We have forgotten, and in many cases never experienced, the way fruits, roots, and vegetables can actually look (and taste). The Mutato-Project serves to document, preserve and promote these last remainders of agricultural diversity.

A visually striking project that celebrates nature and its beautiful imperfections – and asks the question of how much processing and standardization goes into what winds up on our store shelves and plates. That said…this writer still doesn’t think she’d want to eat that mutation.

Uli Westphal

[via Trendland]