The full monty

2023
Oil on linen
31,5 x 39,4 in

THE FULL MONTY

This scene where we discover two people, in a comfortable living room, seeming to chill around an aperitif or a digestif, is a bit like the story of a pretense, of a "fake". It is certainly a young couple, it is cheerful, it is tender, it is beautiful, but is the story really so idyllic?

Through the large bay window, in the distance, on the bank opposite, we can see the remains of a picnic. The woman seems to have a headache and not to be very well. She looks defeated and worried, has she drunk too much alcohol? How long has she been drinking? And what was put in her drink? Does she remember? Why is her swimsuit top on the sofa? And her left earring on the table?

And is the tropical landscape behind the glass, with the pontoon leading to the shore and the kiosk, real? Or is it wallpaper, a trompe l’oeil decoration? Are they in a floating house or in an apartment on the ground floor of a tree-filled courtyard?

And the young man, the one who pulled out all the stops, why does he have a little satisfied smile?

The end of the story is something only the rose-ringed parakeet knows.