This painting was purposefully left unfinished by Haring to represent his life being cut short by AIDS. It has sometimes been described as a self-portrait, with the incomplete nature of the piece representing Haring's unfinished career and the art he would not be able to create.[1][4] This painting has also been described as a statement on the AIDS epidemic's destruction of the gay community and culture, with the sudden shift into blank canvas indicating the sudden onset of the pandemic.