Apples & People explores the astonishing story of the apple through forty-six Apple Stories. Connecting its diverse history to humanity and culture. Based upon a specially commissioned Apple World Map which traces the network of stories from the ancient world to the present day. This online programme and associated social media reveals just how significant and iconic this humble fruit has become.
Rocky Mol Selvaraj hails from Pudukkottai in south-west India and came to England to further her career in art. Studying for an MA in Fine Arts at the University of Lincoln she chanced upon the apple as a way to explore her sense of identity. In this article, Rocky describes how her love affair with apples began.
Paul Cézanne - Still Life with Apples, circa 1878, oil on canvas. Copyright © The Provost and Fellows of King's College, Cambridge, UK
Part of an apple genome sequence © Nicola Busatto
Frederic Leighton - Garden of Hesperides (1892) © Courtesy National Museums Liverpool, Lady Lever Art Gallery
Gentleman of Genius, Thomas Andrew Knight, Herefordshire’s vanguard of pomology
Idun and Brage, 1846, oil on canvas by Nils Jakob Blommér, Malmö Art Museum, Sweden
Bramley Apple Story
The Gangines of the Mappa Mundi
Grafting: Giving Nature a Helping Hand
We would like you to help us celebrate Apples & People by posting a picture of yourself or a friend holding an apple in a meaningful way.
Together, we will create a new apple gallery on Instagram: #peopleholdingapples
Throughout time, the apple has been adopted as an artistic device to portray human emotion. We would like you to explore and share how you would choose to hold an apple in a way that expresses a feeling.
1) Take a photo or photos of someone or some people holding an apple or apples in their hand
2) Post on your Instagram Account (write something about the image if you wish)
3) Add the hashtag #peopleholdingapples to the post
4) Tag the post with @applesandpeople
Portrait of Billy Apple® 1965 photographed by Jerrold Schatzberg.
Courtesy of the Billy Apple® Archive.
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Little Apple
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Inspiring Apples
Home, JournalHow students at world-renowned Central St Martins art and design college have been inspired to develop new work in response to stories featured on Apples & People.
Billy Apple
Home, JournalIn London, on Thanksgiving Day 1962, New Zealand-born artist Barrie Bates changed his name to Billy Apple®, a name that forty five years later became a registered trademark.