Stephen Appleby-Barr’s paintings juxtapose fantastical and everyday objects, conjuring a dreamlike world which verges on the uncanny. Appleby-Barr sees his art as storytelling, touring museums and city streets in the search for characters and sets to introduce into his otherworldly universe. His dark, intimate settings, rich colours and dramatic lighting recall the work of renowned Baroque artists such as Caravaggio.

The present work shows a figure lit by candlelight in a manner recalling the intimate tavern scenes of the Old Masters. Yet all is not as it seems, as behind the figure is a night sky, adding a whimsical and surreal element to the scene. The figure is the likeness of the titular Nimco Kulmiye, who appears in modern dress, grounding a scene that otherwise exists in a liminal time and space. The resulting scene is ethereal: not unfamiliar to our own world yet altered just enough to exist outside of it.