Peach enthusiast and American author Mark Twain once said, "The peach began as a bitter almond." It's true! Long before the furry, fleshy plants had all that fur and flesh, peaches were little more than a pit with a small layer of pulp. Over the course of 3,000 years, the fruits, native to China, were domesticated and grown to the delicious, velvety treats they are today. (Bonus: they've come to symbolize long life and divine power.)
I will be the first to admit I do not know much about the history of the peach. Or any fruit or veggie variety, for that matter. My knowledge basically extends from how mushy they should be before consumption to how bad they should smell before disposal. Thankfully, there is photographer Maciek Jasik.
Jasik is fascinated by the invisible histories embedded between the seeds of our favorite fruits. For example, the fact that the pomegranate was a symbol of life after death in Egypt, or that cauliflower evolved from a wild cabbage. He channels the mythologies of these often devoured, rarely analyzed goods through hypnotic photographs. Somewhere between a still life and a seance, the images of "The Secret Lives of Fruits and Vegetables" capture the mystique that once enshrouded every eggplant.
Jasik recruits pumpkins, squash, watermelons and honeydew as his subjects, conjuring the mysterious folklore behind these unassuming flora with billowing, colored smoke flowing from their cores. Looking something like an enchanted advertisement, Jasik's striking photographs show that a papaya makes as compelling a photography subject as any reclining nude. Come on, look at those curves.
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