Boy With Syringe Lemon & Spoon



Boy With Syringe Lemon And Spoon

This portrait could be a tribute to Caravaggio’s “Bacchus’ or William Burroughs' novel ‘The Naked Lunch’. Unfortunately, Caravaggio was not available to see it, but William Burroughs admired it very much and he thoughtfully signed it ‘For a friend’. It also caught the eye of Derek Jarman. He speaks of the portrait in his diary ‘Modern Nature’, but it was first published in ‘Gai Pied’, in an article entitled ‘Smog Dollies and Smack Dealers’ in 1987. The boy posed for his portrait early one morning, with light reflected from a mirror, in his bedroom - not in a studio as many people presume. I remember we played Sid Vicious’ version of ‘My Way’ on the stereo, as he thought about the arrangement of his syringe, lemon and spoon, carefully observing his reflection across the room. - Matthew R Lewis.