Three hearts, octopus’s crown

This elegant sculpture, in the shape of an octopus with intertwined tentacles, can be worn on the head like a crown. I drew inspiration for this piece from the fascinating anatomy of the octopus; especially its blue, copper-rich blood and the three hearts that this magnificent animal uses to pump the blood around its body.

My human and poetic take on having three hearts originates from the following quote from my father's favourite book, Shōgun (James Clavell, 1975): “It's a saying they have, that a man has a false heart in his mouth for the world to see, another in his breast to show to his special friends and his family, and the real one, the true one, the secret one, which is never known to anyone except to himself alone, hidden only God knows where.”