This piece, along with two accompanying pieces (Sheepskin Palimpsest and Goatskin Palimpsest), examines how the skin of different animal species reacts to “palimpsesting”—the process of writing, then effacing text on parchment, a material that has the unique ability to withstand multiple rounds of scraping and sanding.

Calfskin Palimpsest is part of Madison’s MFA thesis exhibition, Glimpsing Mirrors. The work is about internal dialogue, isolation, and loneliness.