“Beaten!” – The Pansy Project

Paul Harfleet is a London based artist, writer and designer who has been planting pansies, a garden flower who shares its name with a homophobic slur, at sites of homophobic abuse for 15 years. For the 2019 edition of the Nuart Festival, Harfleet brought The Pansy Project to Stavanger, Norway.

By planting solitary pansies at the sites of homophobic and transphobic attacks, Harfleet creates a unique visual dialogue that marks the site-specific personal histories of abuse suffered by the LGBTQ+ community. This time, he chose to paint the flowers. This simple act challenges the viewer and puts forth flora as an act of rebellion, showing solidarity with those affected by violence and opening up a space for discussion and growth.