This is the story of a late-night date abruptly interrupted by the sudden departure of one of the protagonists, terrified by an unexpected apparition.

This painting is a Proustian madeleine for Generation X — or perhaps I should say, a Fraise Tagada. The painting naturally refers to Steven Spielberg’s E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), but also to Alien (Ridley Scott and Hans Ruedi Giger, 1979), or perhaps even Ghostbusters (Ivan Reitman, 1990). The painting also features the characteristic décor and design of those decades, with orange walls and the rubber plant typical of 1970s and 1980s interiors.

The ghostly hand on the man’s shoulder may also refer to the “haunting” fear of television’s harmful influence, which was a genuine subject of public debate at the time. The grasping hand would then become the physical manifestation of the hold of the small screen. One may recall A Nightmare on Elm Street (Wes Craven, 1984), in which Freddy Krueger, the bogeyman, emerges from the TV screen to snatch up a very young Johnny Depp, who had dozed off in bed.