Still Life

An encounter. But of what kind? The two men are involved in an interaction that might be brotherly (“you have my back”), imperative (“are you with us or not?”), in confidence (“this stays between us”) or other possible ways. Look at their gazes: you can’t see neither of the men’s eyes, but the one at the back with a light tan on his skin is likely addressing the other with his gaze. The other is not yet responding. He is looking down, maybe just listening, searching for words, maybe in embarrassment, maybe hesitating in the face of a challenge he wasn’t prepared for. Is this a picture of innocence facing experience?

More than usual, this scene is a tripartite affair. The young men might be avoiding each other’s – and our – gazes. But we are watching them, like peeping Toms, from a safe distance. We form a geometric figure, to be precise an isosceles triangle, the base being the short distance between the young men’s heads.

What sort of space are they occupying? That’s hard to say, the depth is minimal, or then it is just very dark, and the only light is directed at the two men. Theatre comes to mind again, but also painting, with the dramatic contrasts between the human skin tones, shadows and a dark backdrop, which takes on a greenish tone to the right. A heavy drape, or a space losing its depth into darkness.

With all the focus placed on the two men, the background an indistinctive darkish blur, the work does also connect to photography, as when you adjust the aperture of the camera to achieve a minimal depth of focus. It is on the one hand painting, on the other photography. Both apply to the slick surface mounted behind a glass.