A girl draped in a dove-shaped garment holds a beaked mask and gazes calmly ahead. The dove suggests peace and gentleness, while the plague doctor’s mask evokes illness, protection and separation. The mask rests in her hands, not on her face, as if she hasn’t decided whether to put it on or set it down. Sometimes we need an outward image to face the world. It protects us, but also keeps us at a distance. Between protection and separation, sometimes there is only a mask.