Sheep in Wolf’s Clothing

It is a well-known quote, “the wolf in sheep’s clothing”.

Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves (Gospel of Matthew 7:15, King James Version)

Fables of Aesop also speak of wolves that are mistakenly trusted by shepherds; the moral drawn from these is that one’s basic nature eventually betrays itself.

Why shroud our true malevolent selves in the cowardice of sheepskin and pretend to be a common plebeian when we can instead disguise our fears and insecurities with the aggressive face of the wolf? A girl, naked to the bones, cradles the head of a sheep. She buries her vulnerability underneath the savagery of the wolf.

5×7 inches, graphite on paper.