Photographer Marlon Rouse’s “Caraili,” part of his series “Sacred Objects — The Fruit of the Land.” Caraili (Momordica charantia) is a type of bitter melon that originated in Africa. In Trinidad and Tobago, it is often sautéed with onion, garlic, and scotch bonnet pepper. Copyright Marlon Rouse, used with permission.
Having come up through the ranks as a print media photographer, Marlon Rouse had the rare opportunity to learn that images are at their most powerful when serving a story. The fast-paced news environment also sharpened his editorial judgement; by the time he branched out on his own, he had developed a deep appreciation for all aspects of photography and had become sought after for everything from corporate work — including the specialised field of food photography — to portraiture.
“My photography is about investigation,” he tells me in an email thread, “of society, of people, of things and of light. A photo collapses our reality into this two-dimensional object outside of ‘truth,’ and encourages an interpretation specific to the viewer’s life experience and biases.” He finds this really interesting, this question of “How do we see…and why?”
There is no doubt that Rouse sees things differently, evident in his early fashion photography, as well as his contribution to the once “expressive and eclectic” published record of Trinidad and Tobago Carnival. This year, continuing to push the envelope, he started posting a series of fruit images on his Facebook page and has since given them a dedicated space on his website. Far from the typical appetising “Caribbean food basket” aesthetic, the photos are speculative, almost anatomical.
Photographer Marlon Rouse’s “Five Finger,” part of his series “Sacred Objects — The Fruit of the Land.” When five finger (Averrhoa carambola) is cut in cross section, it resembles a star, or the fingers on a hand. Copyright Marlon Rouse, used with permission.
At Christmas, traditionally a time of year where Caribbean people connect over seasonal food favourites — many of them fruit-based — Rouse’s bold exploration rejects the familiar language of appetite, abundance and hospitality in favour of enquiry and even estrangement. Instead of seducing the viewer, the photos are an invitation to consider the fruit as organism rather than product.
Photographer Marlon Rouse’s “Sorrel,” part of his series “Sacred Objects — The Fruit of the Land.” Sorrel (Hibiscus sabdariffa) is brewed to make a spicy-sweet Christmas drink popular in Trinidad and Tobago. Copyright Marlon Rouse, used with permission.
By making the imagery less about desire and more about form, structure, and process, Rouse succeeds in creating a series of xenobiological still lifes, in which his subjects are approached as specimens, observed under laboratory conditions. He uses a combination of lighting, framing, and scale to evoke cross-sections, specimens, and unfamiliar life forms.
Photographer Marlon Rouse’s “Rambutan,” part of his series “Sacred Objects — The Fruit of the Land.” Rambutan (Nephelium lappaceum) is a tropical fruit native to Southeast Asia that is similar to lychee. Copyright Marlon Rouse, used with permission.
You’ve never seen Caribbean fruit quite like this. Anatomical abstractions emphasise structure, fibres and patterns, blurring the line between investigation and art even as he removes any cultural cues that may signal consumption or comfort. Instead, he repositions fruit as matter, creatures of biology that demand closer, more contemplative consideration.
Photographer Marlon Rouse’s “Roucou,” part of his series “Sacred Objects — The Fruit of the Land.” Roucou (Bixa orellana) is native to Central and South America. In addition to cooking with it, Indigenous tribes used the fruit’s pigmented extract to paint their bodies. Copyright Marlon Rouse, used with permission.
Rouse credits the stunning outcome to “being seduced by light … when what is presented affects us and sometimes transcends into something otherworldly.” Like a true artist, he finds that world of introspection alluring. “I insist on representing our land and region in defiance of the obsolete and clichéd versions that we are accustomed to,” he explains, “a colonial concept that we are still subject to.”
Photographer Marlon Rouse’s “Jackfruit,” part of his series “Sacred Objects — The Fruit of the Land.” Jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus) is related to the breadfruit, a Caribbean staple. Copyright Marlon Rouse, used with permission.
When it comes to his fruit images specifically, he came across the term “sacred objects” when reading about the poet W. H. Auden. He says the photos are an enquiry into his youth and how those memories currently influence him — a self-representation of sorts. “I don’t remember paying much attention to [local fruit] back then, but they were very much around,” he says, adding that closer observation today, in a modern light, has brought forward the question of unrealised potential. “That’s something I think about a lot,” Rouse admits. He says the photos are tantamount to “a statement of being, a two-way street, this.”
He also finds it interesting how his perception has changed with time: “There are issues of discrimination, idealisation, colour and shape, along with the question of aesthetics.” Personally, he finds the images mostly melancholic. “Despite a sometimes glamorous light, there is still some ambiguity about the mood. The images can also be very clinical, with aspirations of being admirable, illustrations of being accomplished. The light plays tricks on us.”
Photographer Marlon Rouse’s “Chennette” part of his series “Sacred Objects — The Fruit of the Land.” Chennette (Melicoccus bijugatus) is native to South and Central America, and parts of the Caribbean. The smooth pulp surrounding the seed has a sweet, yet tart, citrus-like flavour. Copyright Marlon Rouse, used with permission.
In creating the images, Rouse found that each individual object demanded a particular light, “a mood suggested or reflected…a dance between memory and discovery.” He also found it interesting that this kind of still-life inspection hadn’t been done, and that some of the fruit represented were new even to some locals. Still, he regards the project as “a celebration, a chance to contemplate the history and form, an opportunity to discover how alien some familiar objects can become.”
Photographer Marlon Rouse’s “Tamarind,” part of his series “Sacred Objects — The Fruit of the Land.” Tamarind (Tamarindus indica) is native to Africa. Its tangy, sweet pulp is used in a myriad of ways to enhance local dishes. Copyright Marlon Rouse, used with permission.
Rouse is “almost obsessed” with the pursuit of alternate meaning, a process he describes as “stepping away from the obvious and into something … somewhere … more abstract.” He’s not a photographer who has shared much of his personal artistic work — apart from the fact that he’s still trying to understand it himself, he says he is also afraid of the work being gratuitous: “Society here does not help in securing a footing, so I have to find my own. It’s difficult to be specific. I prefer things left unsaid, open-ended.”
Still, he hopes to make a book of his photographic art at some point, but says that in Trinidad and Tobago, photography walks both “an under- and un-appreciated road despite the frequent insistence of images for social and more traditional media.” He believes that photography, as more than pure utility, “has a way to go in Trinidad. The rest of the world is light years ahead in their appreciation of its artistic value.”
In the meantime, Rouse intends to forge ahead and see where the light will take him next. View the whole gallery here.
