This drawing draws from the phenomenology of the philosopher Emmanuel Levinas, who considers the relationship between our selfhood and the otherhood (which for Levinas can be human or divine) of those we interact with. According to Levinas, we encounter the other violently, who challenges our sense of hegemony and dominance over reality by showing itself to exist independently of ourselves. When our sense of self is persecuted by the other’s very presence, we flee into ourselves to realise the other is the foundation of our very existence. The drawing grapples with this internal persecution and the paradoxical way we ostracise the other to keep our sense of self safe, which means we also ostracise ourselves in the process.