This painting is based on a photo I took of my boyfriend after we had already spent two hours walking through a museum. His face said everything: tiredness, boredom, zero desire to look at another exhibit, and a quiet hope that we would finally leave.
I painted it, first, because the expression made me laugh. But then I saw something more in it than just wanting to go home. To me, it is about a contradiction almost everyone knows: being somewhere you would rather leave as soon as possible — a museum, a job that drains you, a country that doesn’t feel like yours, or a relationship you no longer want to stay in.
The frame makes this feeling even more absurd. It is full of bright, playful, collectible little objects, while his face inside is completely exhausted. This contrast creates a strange tension: the world around him looks fun and decorative, but internally all he can think is, “I wanna go home.”