Fauve Forest (2021)

Rian, a black artist struggling with coming to terms with his sexuality, paints an intimate portrait of his boyfriend and muse, Fresco, nestled in a Cézanne-esque forest. Posed in a wicker chair, bored to agony, Fresco struggles to stay both sober and focused. In his drunkenness, he wanders around the studio only to discover that Rian is still painting with an old, dirty brush. Fresco's gift, an expensive paintbrush, lies unopened and forgotten, sparking an argument between them. Finally taking his eyes off his work, Rian looks up from his easel to discover that Fresco has vanished. No sooner does he notice, than Fresco's own paint-covered hand emerges from the world beyond the canvas. It pulls him in. Inside the artwork, Rian finds himself surrounded by a kaleidoscope of painted trees. He follows a mysterious trail of white paint that leads him further in. Lost and bewildered, Rian discovers Fresco, consumed by a painful layer of paint, hidden away in a sunken version of his own studio. To escape, Rian must paint himself side-by-side with Fresco, onto fresh canvas, in order to free them.