Abdominal envelope. The centre cannot hold. Ex ovo omnia. Circumscription of an ineffable entity. Emoji oddball. That impossibly great sphere whose centre is everywhere and whose circumference is nowhere. Nought. One’s circumstances, one’s surroundings. Vicious cycle, vicious circle. Cut from Protrusion. Cross-section of a sphere. Like a patient etherized upon a table. Containter. The zygote and the blastula in the zona pellucida. Belly. Gyre. String of pearls. Millions of tiny little pieces which are so small that you can’t see them, and these little pieces are shot out into the sky by electricity. Violet muslin. Inner circle. The prophesies of Circe. Blood–brain barrier. Capsule. Nuclear envelope. The centre can only hold.

Photography: Jeremy Weihrauch. Image courtesy of Australian Tapestry Workshop.

Melanie Irwin