Sassy

"A pink-skin-coloured plant had furled itself along the structure overhead. Its meaty tendrils were so thick and sinewy that I felt I could hear it creak, growing above me in real time. Not for the first time I thought that this was a tactic on the part of the zookeeper to put me off my game, likewise the one-eyed birds that roosted along this fleshy tapestry seemed only to crow during my turn. As always I started from the centre, wanting a point from which I could return and refer to.

As it was night he had locked us in; packs of wild dogs wandered outside wanting ingress, waiting to rip the zoo animals into more familiar shapes with their teeth. We were closed off within the space, like the pieces within the game. As we played I thought about painting..."

Michael Lawton (The Zoo)