My version of the Japanese folklore creature Amabie, a sea creature with three legs or tail-fins, scales, a beak and long flowing hair… when first encountered in the Edo period, it announced that its image should be shared with sufferers of plague so that they and their communities would be cured. The helpful and hopeful notion of Amabie (pronounced ah-mah-bee-ay) became popular with artists around the world in 2020.

Ar first the new virus didn’t have a name. When scientists agreed on the term ‘Covid-19’ spellcheck and autocorrect didn’t recognize it and sometimes changed covid to corvid. (Corvids are birds in the crow/raven/jay family.) Well. That was kind of funny. And I like crows.