One of the pioneering figures of performance, conceptual and Earth art, artist Dennis Oppenheim has created artworks that challenge the nature of art and art making. Taken from Program 1 of the ‘Aspen projects’ series of video-based performance works, Fern #1, Fern #2 and Poison Oak record performative actions that occur between Oppenheim's body, fern leaves and a sprig of poison oak. In these performances, Oppenheim shakes, crumples and ultimately annihilates the plants, resulting in a type of ‘anti-still life’. Instead of preserving the immaculate material form of the plants, Oppenheim captures their demolition, resulting in a humorous take on the still life wherein the process of destruction highlights life’s fragility.