My artist name, PomodoroGirl, came to me during my time living abroad in Italy, a period of challenge and deep self-reflection. Long before that, I was “pomodoro” as a child, my face flushing deep red when my name was called, embarrassment and shame made immediately visible. Vulnerability came without warning, announced through color.
In the painting, the tomato remains connected to its vine. The vine represents nurture, but also the system that cultivates, guiding growth while imposing expectations of readiness and usefulness. The tomato self exists in a moment of fullness, soft and exposed, not unripe and not yet aged.
Red, perishable, and forgiving, the body becomes a portrait of identity as something that grows rather than remains fixed. This work explores the tension between nurturing and expectation, and how visibility, cultivation, and vulnerability shape our sense of self.