“Punch” condenses the narrative intensity characteristic of Charles Hascoët’s work into a small, compact format. The painting references Punch, a baby macaque whose images went viral online and quickly won over the public. Photographed clutching a stuffed animal, the young monkey became a heartwarming figure that captured the collective imagination.
In Hascoët’s interpretation, the scene retains this playful yet tender quality. The animal appears curled up around the stuffed animal in a moment that seems intimate and slightly surreal. Through expressive oil painting and a close-up composition, the artist transforms a viral image into a poetic and affectionate vignette, revealing his interest in how contemporary images can enter the collective imagination and become new visual myths.