Version No. 2 of Lying Figure with Hypodermic Syringe 1968

Francis Bacon’s “Version No. 2 of Lying Figure with Hypodermic Syringe” is, like much of his work, a visceral experience rendered in oil on canvas. The colour palette is dominated by fleshy reds, purples, and sickly greens, but it’s the distorted figure that really grabs you. I can imagine Bacon wrestling with this painting, layering and scraping, trying to pin down something elusive about the human condition. That black swipe across the figure—is it erasure, emphasis, or both? It’s like a primal scream translated into paint. The syringe adds a layer of discomfort, but it's really about vulnerability, the body as a site of pleasure and pain. Bacon’s work always makes me think of other tortured souls like Goya or Soutine. Artists who aren't afraid to look into the abyss and report back. Painting becomes a way of processing the messy, contradictory aspects of being alive. It's not about answers but about the endless conversation artists have with each other across time, always pushing, always questioning.