"Last round and an empty corner"

“Last Round and an Empty Corner” is about exhaustion — physical, emotional, and moral. I painted a boxer sitting alone in the corner after the fight is almost over. The crowd is still there, the lights are still on, the bell keeps ringing, but inside him something has already emptied. This is the moment after belief starts to fade, when you realise you’re still standing, but you’re not sure why.

The word CREEP on his vest is intentional. It speaks about how doubt sneaks in quietly, how weakness is judged from the outside, labelled, shouted at. The repeated faces around him feel like a crowd, but also like pressure — expectations, opinions, voices that never stop watching. You are never really alone, even when you feel completely abandoned.

The empty corner matters. There is no coach leaning in, no reassuring voice, no strategy left to give. The gloves are still on, but they feel heavy now. At his feet, there’s a bottle of rum and a bin — small details that talk about coping, about numbing pain, about the thin line between survival and self-destruction.

This painting is not about winning or losing a fight. It’s about what happens when you’ve given everything and there’s nothing left to offer, yet the world still asks for one more round. It’s about pride, fatigue, and loneliness — about sitting in silence while the bell rings again, knowing this might be the last time you answer it.
— MAAS

"Technique painting: Acrylic, Oil, Chalk, Oil Pastels on Canvas and spray paint on canvas 40" by 32"