A NEW exhibition of paintings is being staged at the Eden Project, near St Austell, as the tourist attraction begins to celebrate its 25th anniversary.

The Spirit of the Harvest display, which will run until February 9 next year, features new global food paintings by John Dyer, the long-term artist in residence at the attraction.

The works celebrate three of the world’s staple food crops and the communities that grow them.

John said: “Rice, potatoes and bananas connect every culture on Earth. Painting them for the UN’s Years of Rice and Potato showed me how these crops hold our shared story – where art, people and plants meet.”

Walls in the link building between the rainforest and mediterranean biomes has been painted a terracotta colour to provide a suitable backdrop for the vibrant canvases. Alongside each painting, plant panels explore the botany, heritage and sustainability of the crops.

An Eden Project spokesperson said: “At the heart of the exhibition are four new large-scale paintings that celebrate the planet’s three major staple crops.

“These new works are shown alongside en plein air paintings created during John Dyer’s global expeditions to Peru (2003), Costa Rica (2003 and 2005) and the Philippines (2004) – journeys made in collaboration with the Eden Project, the United Nations and the International Year of Rice and Potato initiatives.

“Together, these pieces form a vivid and historically significant body of work, charting Dyer’s long-term commitment to documenting humanity’s relationship with food, farming and nature. The result is a colour-filled visual record of the global harvest – a story of connection, culture and care.”

John said: “Spirit of the Harvest tells a story that began over 20 years ago. Painting in Peru, Costa Rica and the Philippines changed how I saw our planet – how food and community bind us all. These new canvases bring that journey full circle.”