There is a lonesome serendipity to spotting a single discarded shoe alongside the road. For Houston artist Tra' Slaughter, the single lost shoe evokes a haunting mystery that unfolds in his mind. Tapping more deeply into that mystery and inspiration, Slaughter has been working on a new exhibition, “The Souls of Soles.”

“How does someone lose just one shoe?” Slaughter explained. “This is a question I’ve been asking myself for years, as I’ve seen a single shoe somewhere along my travels almost every day of my life. It’s not that I’m looking for them, but I certainly do see them. It’s always puzzled me.”

Slaughter’s new show serves as a valentine to the timeless beauty of discarded but once-beloved objects.