Erotic Jewels

The pomegranate! Why does this simple fruit captivate so? The pomegranate is surely filled with a rich, seductive life. Rarely have I come across a fruit which possesses such a jewel-like treasure within its interior. Opening this ruby bulb reveals a thousand glistening jewels. These rubies are of course deeply sexual objects. The seeds shimmer and pulsate with the embodiment of erotic excitement. Of course, they have long been reputed to be a natural aphrodisiac. Their erotic nature is further enhanced by a capacity to promote fertility by boosting libido and sexual vigor; the juice of the seeds is said to increase testosterone levels. However, I’m more fascinated by what this fruit evokes on a more instinctive level. So when I paint these pomegranate seeds it’s like painting sexual anatomy.

Though this fruit is naturally erotic, I don’t choose to overtly eroticise it. In fact, I do little but allow it to speak naturally of its own erotic nature. I am merely the voyeur, the translator of this fruit’s natural sexual beauty. I offer up its beauty to a wider audience so that it may appreciate and revel in its erotically charged inner sanctum. On many occasions I have, in fact, sought to disavow this erotic fascination with fruit. But this relationship is embedded in all our Western psyches since the beginning of biblical times.