Cracked, held together

Inspired by Cig Harvey

This was my first introduction to the art of Cig Harvey. Studying her and her art made me open my eyes and SEE again. Some photographers have a way of shifting how you see the world. For me, one of those artists is Cig Harvey. Her images transform the ordinary into the extraordinary—the mundane into the magical. Her work reminds me that beauty often lives in places we might otherwise overlook.

This photograph grew out of that idea.

At first glance, the scene is simple: a delicate but bold orange poppy flower resting against a cracked, hardened surface. The stem and leaves are a vivid green, alive and bright against a ground marked by lines—veins upon veins of fractures running through the material beneath it.

During a critique with my art group, one member compared the image to Kintsugi—the Japanese practice of repairing broken pottery with gold. Instead of hiding the cracks, kintsugi highlights them, honoring the history of the object and embracing imperfection as part of its beauty.

That comparison resonated deeply with me.

I love how photography can do this—take a small, overlooked moment and reveal something larger within it. A flower, a crack in the ground, a simple juxtaposition. Yet together they hint at something poetic: that fragility and strength often exist side by side.

It’s a reminder I find myself returning to often in my work: the extraordinary is usually hiding inside the ordinary, just waiting to be noticed.