Forgotten in the back of my fridge, this pepper had long lost its place at the table. Abandoned, wrinkled, and quietly decaying. Yet in its curves and creases, I saw the outline of a heart. Inspired by the meticulous compositions of Paul Outerbridge, I bound it with string and metal clips, symbols of the invisible forces that trap us. The ropes pull tight, restraining not just the object, but the metaphorical heart it represents.
This image speaks to those moments in life when our heart is trapped by fear, by insecurity, by a lack of self-love. For some, the prison is built at birth, and the walls are never seen but always felt. It is the cruelest fate to move through life unable to follow the heart’s pull, missing the raw joy of living. The pepper’s stillness mirrors the quiet suffering of a heart denied its freedom.
This image won a John White honorable mention at the CPCC 2025 student show
Forgotten in the back of my fridge, this pepper had long lost its place at the table. Abandoned, wrinkled, and quietly decaying. Yet in its curves and creases, I saw the outline of a heart. Inspired by the meticulous compositions of Paul Outerbridge, I bound it with string and metal clips, symbols of the invisible forces that trap us. The ropes pull tight, restraining not just the object, but the metaphorical heart it represents.
This image speaks to those moments in life when our heart is trapped by fear, by insecurity, by a lack of self-love. For some, the prison is built at birth, and the walls are never seen but always felt. It is the cruelest fate to move through life unable to follow the heart’s pull, missing the raw joy of living. The pepper’s stillness mirrors the quiet suffering of a heart denied its freedom.
This image won a John White honorable mention at the CPCC 2025 student show
It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business.
Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world.
