The smartest thing about this photograph is its use of negative space. Between the two subjects a blurred, nondescript distance stretches away, managing to offer the audience a 'lost at sea' effect, and drawing the eye naturally to the sharper foreground in a way that stresses a private moment to be witnessed, rather than a forced pose.

Obscuring the faces of the subjects so that only key features are distinguishing them as human beings is a technique that leaves the viewer free to make certain decisions about the mood of the piece. The relationship that the two of them share is by no means totally clear. Neither is the kind of world they inhabit or how they are feeling about the moment. Suggestions -through pose and eye contact between them- marry with the neutrality of being unable to fully see who they are or engage with them, and this gives the piece it's haunting quality. For example there could be a play on power between them if interpreted as a dominant stance taken by the figure on the left. Equally it could be a death bed scenario, and in fact the pallid look of the figure on the right resembles a death mask.

Overall the work offers a feeling of secrecy which stays on after the initial assessment is made by the audience. It's touching, emotive and, in essence, it's enjoyable more for what it doesn't tell you than what it does.