'The Inhabitant' by Klára Hosnedlová and Nona Inescu at Polansky Gallery, Prague

Some animals’ bodies are so vulnerable to their surroundings that they need to be encased in hard shells to survive.

(Her mother always told her she better get a thick skin) 

My shell is composed of a few rituals that arm me against the outside world. It is not so much physical danger that it shields me from, but more a feeling of total loss of control. I light a candle and stare at the flame. I get into the bath and let my body dissolve. I take a Brightening Infusion Hydrogel Sheet Mask out of its wrapping and lay it on top of my face for 20 minutes. All of this wellness makes me softer, as if to protect against hardening.

When you say someone has come out of their shell, it’s like saying that they are becoming – they’ve been reborn. Hermit crabs will outgrow their shells and search for new ones. Only under the cover of night do they scuttle naked across the sand, never to be seen whilst unveiled.