A portrait of absence and reunion. I built it from the marks that absence and return leave behind, building up layers of coloured pencil on wood whose uneven texture and natural stains become part of the emotional surface. I consider the wood grain when working out the composition, so the scar on the grandmother’s face was no accident. It emerged from an intense concentration of crosshatching, carrying the full emotional weight of separation, which is partly my fault too. This piece is a monument to the separations created by personal decisions as well as by a worldwide tragic event.