For Gabonese photographer and creative director, Ossiesse Ngouabi Davis Heuss, ‘Good Choice’ is more than a story—it’s a visual and emotional journey, shared through photography and design. “This project is my way of expressing feelings through fashion and image-making, a canvas where imagination and identity meet. At its core, it’s a tribute to Senegalese and African designers, whose work I weave into my own understanding of style, culture, and—above all—choice,” he shares.

About this photographic body of work, he continues to share that life is full of choices. “From mundane decisions to life-altering crossroads, we are constantly pushed to decide. Even the creation story, in many traditions, begins with a divine choice: should man exist alone, or with a counterpart? The introduction of women is a profound, intentional decision—one that echoes the weight of choice itself.”

As humans, we are often faced with the fundamental decision between good and evil choices, behaviour and actions. Every action sits somewhere on that spectrum. The ‘Good Choice’ story invites us to look inward—at a more symbolic choice. Davis prompts us with this, “If you were handed two pills, one red and one blue, which would you choose?

The red pill represents truth—unfiltered, sometimes painful, but ultimately liberating. It forces us to confront reality and embrace the lessons that come with it. The blue pill, by contrast, offers ease and ignorance: a comforting dream that asks no questions and promises no disruption.

For me, the idea of choice is deeply human. It’s complex and often fraught with doubt. Every decision holds weight—it can bring growth, joy, or even suffering. Sometimes it leads to irreversible consequences. But to choose is to evolve.”

One can at once see that Davis, having shot, produced, styled and directed this editorial, is a creative conceptual thinker as well as an image-maker. He continues, “The red pill demands courage. It’s rooted in self-awareness, in a fiery determination to face reality. It’s not a comfortable path. Truth often arrives uninvited and harsh, but when we greet it—ideally, even with a smile—it brings with it the strength of knowing, the power of clarity.

The blue pill, though beautiful—blue is, after all, my favorite color—represents denial. It’s easy, seductive. But ignorance is fragile. It opens us to manipulation, to self-doubt, to the quiet erosion of identity. Remaining in utopia is, in time, a dream that turns to despair, as the eventual awakening can feel like betrayal.”

To Davis, these pills—these choices—can coexist. Like good and evil, they are twin forces, equally present, equally persuasive. While the statistics of life favor one eventually, we are called to choose. To him, the choice is red, because no matter how difficult, choosing truth—choosing awareness—is choosing freedom. “I’d rather carry the burden of truth than float in the illusion of ease. That, to me, is a Good Choice.”

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