Histopathologically
I think the Polar bear
in this photo has periodontal disease
beside being dead and having the hollow
bristles of guard hairs that aren’t guard hairs, really,
as they’re on his mouth instead of his legs.
Beside being dead, he has the calcifications
between molars eating into bone structure
like a bar jack with a belly full of shells, I bet
it doesn’t bother him like it does me.
I see in this photo that the dead polar bear
was going to die anyway,
even if he hadn’t been shot.
Emily MacGriff’s work pulls largely from her experience working aboard expedition ships as a marine biologist/wilderness guide in the polar regions, South Pacific and British Isles. She is mostly retired from shipboard work and focused on navigating life as a woman, artist and mother. She’s based in Detroit and received an MFAW from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2022.