Every great investigation starts with a mystery. This one started with my young cousin, Freya, and her very serious love of Heinz ketchup.

Freya is the kind of person who believes ketchup belongs on almost everything, and one of her biggest fears is the thought of running out of it. While most children her age worry about monsters under the bed or forgetting their homework, Freya worries about opening the fridge and finding an empty ketchup bottle. Naturally, I thought this was hilarious and decided to take her fear to its logical extreme.

What if all the Heinz ketchup disappeared?

And so, The Great Heinz Heist was born.

This project imagines a world where Heinz has mysteriously vanished without a trace. A crime has been committed, panic is spreading and an investigation is underway. Each piece in this exhibition represents a different crime scene from the case. From suspicious clues to questionable evidence, every scene helps tell the story of the search for the missing ketchup.

The project combines photography, storytelling and a healthy amount of imagination to turn an everyday household condiment into the most wanted item in the country. By treating a bottle of Heinz ketchup like a priceless stolen treasure, the work pokes fun at how attached we can become to ordinary things.

At its heart, this project is a tribute to Freya's unwavering loyalty to ketchup. What began as a funny family joke quickly grew into a full criminal investigation, complete with mystery, drama and plenty of red herrings. As you explore the exhibition, see if you can solve the case for yourself.

After all, somewhere out there, a ketchup thief is still on the loose.

After completing my degree, I am excited to begin the next stage of my career as a Digital Marketing and Community Officer for the second-largest family-run funeral care business in Dorset. This opportunity allows me to combine the creative and communication skills I have developed throughout my studies with meaningful community engagement. I am looking forward to helping the business strengthen its digital presence, connect with local communities, and continue supporting families with care and compassion.

While The Great Heinz Heist was not a heavily collaborative project, I did benefit from valuable input from students across other creative disciplines. In particular, I had some really useful conversations with Graphic Design students when developing the text elements that accompany the work outside of the gallery images. They helped me think about which fonts, colours and design choices best suited the playful crime investigation theme of the project. 

More broadly, throughout my Final Major Project I worked closely with both Graphic Design and Illustration students, regularly sharing ideas, seeking feedback and learning from their different creative approaches. These conversations played an important role in shaping and refining my work.