Crop Circles: Land Art of an Ephemeral Nature

Every year in and around Wiltshire, strange formations appear as if spontaneously in the vast wheat fields of southern England. Like rural graffiti they appear mysteriously overnight in farmers fields, often near to the famous neolithic monuments of Stonehenge, Avebury and Silbury Hill. No one knows why they started or why it is that they are particularly common to this part of England.

Stonehenge 1996
Photographer: Steve Alexander

Often dismissed as hoaxes, vandalism or kook they defy simple explanation because of their complexity, their size and the sheer number of them that appear every summer. Some people insist that their origin is unworldly, while others have made tabloid claims to be the circle-makers. No matter which story appeals to you the circles remain enigmatic and beautiful, an example of a very temporary kind of land art with a unique geometric beauty and a precision that belies their fragility.

If you're familiar with Robert Smithson, Richard Long or Andy Goldsworthy you can perhaps appreciate why people might be drawn to visit them despite their place in the popular imagination and media which lend them a notoriety that even Banksy would be pleased with.

Every summer Steve Alexander flies over the pictograms—often on the day they appear—and documents them from above, which like the Nazca Lines is the only way that they can be properly seen. The images are not altered they are simple documentation. Although a wider selection of images are available at Steve's website: temporarytemples.co.uk what makes these special is that they are printed on one of the most beautiful and archival inkjet papers available. These are truly fine art prints.