While planning this painting, I was preoccupied with Albert Camus' philosophy of Absurdism, or, more specifically, finding joy in the absurdity of existence. Considering current world and national events, it seemed an attractive approach to life and would help my gloom grow into a happier form of nihilism. It did. Albrecht Durer also inspired this image. While paging through a book of his woodblock prints, I found a depiction of a man being cooked in a pot; one man was operating bellows to keep the fire hot, and another man appeared to be "basting" the martyr with a pail attached to a stick. The image was farcical to me and fodder for an Absurdist painting. The Christian martyr became a "pagan" martyr based on my reading about early Christianity. Christians were thought to have persecuted both "pagans" and classical books almost equally, and they always were obsessed with the sex other people were having. Other elements of this painting are open to the interpretations of the viewer, and I hope that the queer camp and absurdist aspects of my work contribute to my goal of joyfully mocking the delusions of the self-righteous. Cheers.