Holding an illuminated glass heart, nine-year-old Brooklyn Mitchell and her father, Joseph Mitchell, stand next to each other with shirts unbuttoned, revealing nearly identical vertical scars over their sternums. Both father and daughter had open-heart surgeries nearly four years apart, with Joseph Mitchell having had a heart transplant in 2016 and Brooklyn Mitchell an atrial septal defect repair in 2020. (Photo by Nicholas Mitchell)

This relates to the theme “See It to Believe It” in several ways. First, with their shirts unbuttoned, it exposes the scars that are typically hidden, allowing everyone to “see it” and “believe” that they both have had open-heart surgeries. Second, the glowing glass heart lets the viewer envision the anatomical hearts that were both touched by the doctor’s scalpel. And last but not least, the combination of the two coupled with the fact that this is a father/daughter duo, truly depicts a challenging story that isn’t typically out on display, a story many wouldn’t believe given that the two live seemingly normal lives. Seeing these scars and the heart illuminated really allows for light to be shed on their story so that people see it and believe it.