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Illustration by Mich Maliszewska
Lovesick An homage to Giorgione’s Double Portrait. The orange and its use in early Modern European culture was such a prevalent symbol of unrequited love that several works of visual art and literature cannot be understood without an awareness of this connection.
Illustration by Mich Maliszewska
Mi Media Naranja An imagined meet-cute in the CMX subway. In Spanish, the idiom for your other half is “mi media naranja,” or literally, “my half orange.”
Illustration by Mich Maliszewska
Seder Plate The inclusion of an orange on a seder plate is attributed to Susannah Heschel, professor of Jewish studies at Dartmouth College, who included the orange in recognition of queer Jews. In her ritual, each person takes a segment of the orange, and before eating it, says a blessing over the fruit. The seeds are spit out as a rejection of homophobia.
Illustration by Mich Maliszewska
Chap Goh Mei On the fifteenth night during Lunar New Year, Malaysian boys and girls congregate at the Penang river. Girls write their names, numbers, or instagrams on oranges that they then throw into the river for boys to dive into and claim, a modern adaptation of an ancient Malaysian tradition of single women releasing mandarins down the river in hopes to bring them a husband.
Illustration by Mich Maliszewska
Pomarancze od Babci Dedicated to my mother. During Christmas time in Canada, my great-grandmother would send oranges back to her daughter and grandchildren in then Soviet-occupied Poland, where oranges were not available.
Illustration by Mich Maliszewska
Ju Song Based on a Chinese classical poem by Qu Yuan, a poet from the Zhou dynasty. The poem, Ju Song or “In Praise of the Orange Tree,” compares human attributes and virtues to an orange tree, described as a teacher in the work.
Illustration by Mich Maliszewska
Lunar New Year Another Lunar New Year festivity includes children of the family gifting their elders mandarins, a symbol of good luck (with its visual association with gold), and love.
Illustration by Mich Maliszewska
Emily Derived from Jean Little’s poem “Oranges,” that creates a strong, warm intimacy around two girls who share an orange. Evvy Blatstein for Valley Magazine writes in reflection to this work; “How am I meant to tell you I love you if I don’t have any oranges to peel for you? Tenderly and slowly, I peel the sticky fruit apart. First, separating the peel from the soft flesh of the fruit concealed inside. The scent of sweet citrus fills the air, making it impossible to be lonely because of the orange in my hand.”

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