Overripe Population
Artist
Jo Whaley
(American, born 1953)
Date1994 (printed 2019)
MediumPigment print
DimensionsSupport: 20 × 24 in. (50.8 × 61 cm)
ClassificationsPhotograph
Credit LineGift of Jo Whaley, 2025
Object number2025.14.4
DescriptionLight blue backdrop with some yellow at left, with a small, green pomegranate fruit at top right that is facing a larger, burst-open, red fruit toward lower left. Extending from both are small branches with leaves and between them is a green insect. Scattered around the page are red pomegranate seeds.eMuseum Notes
This print from Jo Whaley’s “Natura Morta” is emblematic of her practice at that time, working in her studio with painted backdrops, drapery, still life objects, and natural elements. This piece articulates the problem of population growth on a planet of finite resources, featuring a pomegranate couple and a bug, or pollinator. Some cultures and religions consider the pomegranate a symbol of fertility and speculate it was the forbidden fruit eaten by Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Here, one fruit has burst open with ripeness, scattering its luscious, gem-like seeds across the page but the abundant fecundity is tempered by an awareness of the limits of sustainability.
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