Fëëd Me Fruit is a photo and interview project, exploring the links between sensuality, communal bread-breaking, and fruit. Fruits remind us of the cycle of life, the changing of seasons and the inevitability of time passing. How one must come apart to be devoured, just like fruit. The messiness. The juiciness. What our favorite fruit says about us. Who we let watch us eat fruit. Who we let feed us fruit. Tasting fruit is one of our first and most lasting pleasures in life. We hope the ripened season lingers on your lips just a bit longer, as it peels away.
Content Warning: Partial Nudity
The interview
AFONIME [They/Them]
Favorite fruit to eat alone?
It might sound a little weird but I love honeydew melon. I’ll come home, cut it up, and then I’ll make a ‘nature’s cereal’ with it. I put milk in it and it’s sooo good. Melon is just really, really good. And I like eating it alone just because it’s really sweet. I’m stuck between that and saying cherries, because I’ll share any other fruit but those. You just pop them in your mouth – I love pop-in-your-mouth food.
Favorite fruit to share?
I was thinking about food that is communal and I feel like grapes make me think of that. Grapes are just one of those fruits that everybody eats together. It’s just so easy! Especially the fat seedless green grapes. Everyone can just put their hand in, pick that s*** up, and throw it in their mouth… Yes! Grapes are so communal.
Favorite fruit to hold/ feel?
This is such a hard one… I’m stuck between mangoes and watermelons. I think both of those, just because they elicit memories from childhood. I grew up in a whole other country and when you grow up in another space, your reality is very fragmented. There are a lot of things that are symbolic to me that I don’t immediately recognize as being such. So, I think watermelon and mango mean so much to me because they are just reminiscent of home.
I just love the heaviness of watermelons and the smoothness of mangoes. Mangoes are just so easy to peel and eat. I love letting the juices drip. You just have to be messy eating a mango. Part of enjoying the mango experience is the stickiness on your hands, peeling it like a mad man, and sucking on the big ass seed in the middle. The entire experience is very sensual.
Favorite memory of fruit?
My first memory of fruit is being a kid in Nigeria and literally buying fruit off the side of the street!!! I remember being a kid and having vendors who would come and sell my mom oranges, bananas, and the one thing I have not had since then and would literally kill to have again: sugar cane.
All the fruit sellers would have big bowls they carried on their heads.
There is this one specific fruit trader I still remember (shout out to the autism and the long term memory that it grants me). He would come with the long sugar cane sticks on top of his head while carrying a machete with him. I would always beg my mom to buy some from him. God, I didn’t even know that it was gonna be 18 years before I had it again. I don’t even know if I will have it again soon.
The other memory of fruit I have is in America. My dad loves fruit so one of the things that he would always buy for the house was corn and coconut. As the first child, I would be tasked with boiling the corn. We’d get the coconut water and split it among ourselves as a family. My dad would put it in a wine glass usually, we’d pass it around, each taking a sip of the coconut water, and then we would cut the coconut into little pieces. We’d have corn and coconut together.
What will you miss most about summer?
Honest to God, aint s*** imma miss about this summer. I’m very happy it’s over. This summer was not fun per se. The only thing I will miss about the summer is the warmth and being able to dress like a h**. Outside of that, I am very excited to see 2023 go, because the entire year for me has actually been a very shitty year.
ASSAMAOU [She/Her]
Favorite fruit to eat alone?
My favorite fruit to eat alone would probably have to be pomegranates. I think the process of peeling it and getting all the seeds out one by one is time consuming, but very therapeutic, and rewarding in the end.
Favorite Fruit to share?
My favorite fruit to share would be mangoes and it’s also my favorite memory of fruit. My grand-mom would always buy lots of mangoes in Africa. All the grandchildren would fit by her feet, as she cut up the mangoes so that we each could have a piece.
Favorite Fruit to feel/hold?
My favorite fruit to feel or hold I think would be watermelon. It’s one of the only fruits I think that requires two hands to eat with, and I think just being fully involved with both of my hands while eating makes it my favorite.
What will you miss most about summer?
Going to miss most about summer is just being able to have the time to vacation and go back home and visit my family.
GYAH [They/The
What’s your favorite fruit to eat alone, to share, and to feel/hold?
What’s coming to me as I think about my favorite fruit is a big juicy bundle of grapes. I love the sensation of plucking each grape from their perfect little places on the vine. Then biting into them, and letting the sweetness roll over my tongue. They’re great for sharing, plus they come in one of my favorite colors, purple!
What’s your favorite memory of fruit?
Having just done this shoot, I’m feeling a bit biased towards this wonderful experience. But I’ll think back further. As a younger person, I ate very few fruits because I’m allergic to a variety of them. Recently, I started prioritizing more fruit in my diet! I think about this one time, probably two or three months ago, my partner, Kahla, and I bought this pineapple. It ended up sitting in our fridge for like a week until they cut it up. Before then, I’d never had fresh pineapple before and the experience was life changing! Now, we always keep a pineapple in the fridge!
What will you miss most about summer?
This summer was my most memorable yet so I will definitely be reminiscing as autumn continues to take hold. I think I’ll miss the long days filled with light and opportunity the most! I’m so grateful to the Sun for her radiance. And for providing life sustaining energy that empowers us to grow. I’ll be holding on to the sunshine this summer gave me until I can see her once more.
KAHLA [They/Them]
Favorite fruit to eat alone?
A super sweet, ripe & juicy mango is my favorite fruit to eat when I’m by myself because I definitely get messy. I’m West Indian and we don’t play about the intensity with which we eat our mangoes. Sticky orange juice runs down my face and hands— and I scrape every last piece of mango skin with my teeth, accumulating little strings in between each tooth. But there is something so connective and instinctual about losing myself in the dance of devouring mango. I think of my maternal and paternal grandparents and the mango trees they had growing on their homesteads in Jamaica. I feel like the action of eating mango brings me into alignment with the divinity of existence.
Favorite fruit to share?
My favorite fruit to share are cherries. I thought I was allergic to them, but I work on a farm right now and had fresh cherries from our orchard for the first time this year—and hold and behold, I wasn’t allergic! They were fresh and organic and the students of the youth program I was helping to facilitate all sat by the cherry tree and we shared them together. Cherries calm me and remind me of my youth. Their redness is a reminder of the boldness of nature.
Favorite fruit to feel/hold?
Grapefruit is definitely my favorite fruit to feel and to hold. My grandfather taught me how to peel the grapefruit in one long continuous spiral. I always cut it that way now. And then I cut the grapefruit in half and tear into the juicy, bitter, citrus fruit. The hydration of grapefruits are like nothing I’ve ever experienced. I always feel comforted feeling the soft outer flesh cupped by my palms as I syphon the juices between my lips. I’m so grateful for the feeling of holding and devouring a grapefruit.
What’s your favorite memory of fruit?
My favorite memory of fruit is eating Guinep with my grandmother. She grew up with so many more fruits available to her than I did, and trying this fruit with her made me aware that she was so much more complex and layered and knowledgeable than I had really understood. She knows so many things and I always find it interesting what she chooses to share with me. But I especially love that she’s shared guinep.
What will you miss most about summer?
What I’m gonna miss most about summer is having so much sunlight! Having less sunlight in the winter can be tough, but I’m grateful the sun always shines.
KAYLA [She/Her]
Favorite fruit to eat alone?
Grapes. I just think they are so fun. Also Grapefruits because it feels like such a solitary fruit. Something I can have to myself with a little bit of sugar on top.
Favorite fruit to share?
To share with friends or family would be citruses or watermelon. It’s just abundant and sorta feels like is made for that. To share with a partner would be strawberries/ cherries. They feel more intimate.
Favorite fruit to feel/hold?
I love the feel of mangoes/ melons, more of a mouth feel. And they are usually always the freshest. Never had a mad melon or mango in my life.
Favorite memory of fruit?
I love making fruit juices with my sister. Once or twice a year, We usually get together and pick out three juices we want to make, go and buy all the fruits and veggies, and make a day out of it. It’s nice just to listen to our favorite music and make something fresh and delicious.
What will you miss most about summer?
I think the fresh strawberries in the summer are the best compared to all the other seasons. I also miss the feeling of the sun on my skin. There’s something about summer that always makes everything seem so fresh and free. While it isn’t my favorite season, I do miss basking in the sun and feeling like I can make it the most of my day.
L [They/Them]
Favorite fruit to eat alone?
Pomegranate
Favorite fruit to share?
Berries
Favorite to feel/hold?
A bunch of clementines hehehe
Favorite Memory of Fruit?
My favorite memory of fruit was with my childhood best friend who passed away. Our shared favorite fruit was pomegranate. I have it tatted on me now. Before I knew how to open a pomegranate properly, we would just sit in the mess of bursted seed bubbles and juices and laughter and we had no choice but to be present with ourselves and the fruit because otherwise, we’d make the whole world sticky with our fingers.
What will you most about summer?
I will miss the long sunshine and the smell of the earth and the plants that greet me when I go outside and their little flowers.
VICKI [They/She]
Favorite fruit to eat alone?
I love the crunch of apples, the process of choosing one for myself to indulge in. I have childhood memories of going apple picking with my family, walking through rows of trees filled with juicy apples, and waiting to be picked under the beating sun. I loved the way they fit perfectly into your hand and the satisfaction of crunching into them bite by bite until you get to the core.
Favorite fruit to share?
For me, mangoes are so versatile. There is something that my family would make called mango chow. It’s peeled and sliced mango mixed with lime, pepper (scotch bonnet, ghost pepper, or scorpion), garlic, shado beni (cilantro), salt & pepper. It is the perfect blend of sweet, savory, and spicy. You usually make it in a large bowl and share it out to people. We would eat it together in bowls on a hot summer day, indulging while coming together for food and conversation. My mom used to really like red mango, also a spicy mango snack. I would love eating these cold and right out the package. You just suck and eat them dry. These flavors are so unique and special to my heart. They remind me of my mom, family, and Trinidad.
Favorite fruit to feel/hold?
Grapes. I love that you can fit multiple, they are smooth and easy to eat.
What will you miss most about summer?
For me, I’ll miss the sun, the energy from a warm sun beating down on you, the walks, laying down on a patch or by the grass in the sun.
A special thank you to all of our talented and beautiful friends who braced a tropical storm to make this day happen. It was the fruitiest, yummiest, and most special day. We hope you embrace the new season and all of the pleasures it has to offer. This is not goodbye. Just until next summer.
Fëëd Me Fruit 2023
Created by Bruna Kleinman & Taïna Jabouin | Published & Edited by ëëN | Photography by Derek Chapman | Text: Edited by Taïna Jabouin & Transcribed by Bruna Kleinman | Artistic Direction: Bruna Kleinman & Taïna Jabouin |Graphic Design/Photo Editing: Taïna Jabouin |Styling: All Models Featured, Bruna Kleinman & Taïna Jabouin | Set Design: Bruna Kleinman & Taïna Jabouin |Makeup: Taïna, Bruna, Assamaou & L