Cover design for Sorrir, esse sacrifício ("To smile, that sacrifice"), a book of poems by Gisela Maria Bester published by Praga.

India ink that runs. Two oxen painted in black ink, one facing front and one in profile, over a deep red. The ink is not dry: it runs down the legs to the foot of the page, stains, splatters. The book speaks of animals, of Gaia, of living forms under threat — and the sacrificial animal appears here as presence, not as emblem, with the dignity of one who looks the reader in the eye.

Red, black and white. The title in white sans serif, aligned left at the foot, in three short lines, with the author's name above in lowercase. The Praga colophon in red over the black of the ox, almost hidden. Nothing else.

Inside, the herd. The endpapers carry the same painting repeated and mirrored in black and white, like a herd reflected in water. The open cover has the back in black with the author's portrait, a text by Luci Collin and, on the flap, the introduction by Maria Valéria Rezende.