Why These Photos of Neatly Arranged Food Are So Satisfying

A week shy of her 24th birthday, food photographer Brittany Wright is busy prepping for a road trip across the country. Her self-imposed mandate? Hit up as many small farms as possible and photograph whatever produce — carrots, broccoli, blueberries, what have you — is springing forth from the earth at that given moment. But not before positioning them in neat rows arranged by color, a trick that manages to make even dirt-flecked vegetables look regal and rustic at the same time.

"People like things set in order and seeing patterns that go together — it's just pleasing mentally," Wright told Yahoo Food. "I've had people email me and say that have severe OCD, and seeing my art removes that nervous tick from their brain for a second. I don’t have OCD, but I see that. We like seeing order."

Wright has posted her "food gradients" to Instagram for the last two years, and in that time has amassed more than 80,000 followers. Her aim is to encourage people to eat more local fruits and vegetables and support the farms that produce them. In keeping with that goal, most of the food she features hails from nearby farms or farmer's markets. (None of it is wasted, she stressed. "I either end up eating it, taking it to my friends, or I take it to a food bank.") Her upcoming trip is an extension of that goal. Plus, she loves making art.

"I tell people that my goal is basically to be Andy Warhol and Martha Stewart combined," she said.