The Creature That Shields Its Heart with Its Fingers

The creature seems to have paused in the midst of its own sprouting: one of its palms is open, and at its center

lies a broken heart, which is simultaneously displayed and attempted to be hidden. The other hand covers the heart on its chest, and from its fingers sprouts the stem of a heavy

flower, whose petals shine like stars. The beast's body is composed of sharp shoulders, thorns, and unexpected offshoots – a leg grows directly from the shoulder, forks below the knee, and a star flares up just below the kneecap. One ear withers into a thin stem with a bud, the other is a palm, outstretched in a gesture of simultaneous vulnerability and protection. Between the eyebrows and nostrils, ornamental thorns and petals sprout – as if thoughts that cannot

decide whether to be pain or a flower.