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The Secret Lives of Fruits and Vegetables by Maciek Jasik

10.30.17 | By
The Secret Lives of Fruits and Vegetables by Maciek Jasik

With Halloween tomorrow we thought we would share a visual ghost story… Here is a beautiful tribute to the origins, mythology, and symbolism of fruits and vegetables by Polish-born, NYC-based photographer Maciek Jasik.

Until only very recently, each fruit and vegetable held its own connection to culture and afterlife. Somewhere along the way we’ve been separated from these origins, and only know them as the flavors and textures they provide.

Several of the most common vegetables took thousands of years to cultivate, the watermelon was originally known for being bland and buried with pharaohs as a water source in the afterlife and Buddha considered the pomegranate one of the three most blessed fruits.

Jasik’s series aims to revive these mystical, invisible qualities to fruits and vegetables that have been lost amidst the clamor of nutritional statistics. He accomplishes these seductively eerie shots by poking small holes within his subjects to make the colorful and deeply-hued smoke bombs subtly waft or flood from the inside.

So be careful when you start carving that pumpkin… you might get engulfed in a poof from the past.

Caroline Williamson is Editor-in-Chief of Design Milk. She has a BFA in photography from SCAD and can usually be found searching for vintage wares, doing New York Times crossword puzzles in pen, or reworking playlists on Spotify.