Story behind the art of Sengmany Phommachakr

27th Annual International

American Society of Botanical Artists and the Society of Illustrators

Purple Daikon

Raphanus raphanistrum subsp. sativus

These purple daikons with their “wabi-sabi” elegance charmed me at first glance when I saw them on display at my public market in October 2022. 

It was impossible to resist their funny curves.

Back in my studio, I put these roots in a bowl filled with water to preserve them as long as possible. To my surprise, their small basal leaves grew bigger as days passed. The unexpected growth of the leaves was a gift from nature that allowed me to create a more dynamic composition than I had first visualized.

The complete daikon with what looked like three toes was ideal to showcase the roundness of the roots, the beautiful purple skin, and surface texture.



As in many of my works, I like to expose the heart of a fruit or a root. The longitudinal section reveals the daikon's colorful and striped inner content, whereas the daikon top's cross-section shows the purple patterns of the root.

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Read more about this artist's work: Curious Allies