Patient Zero: APRICUS (Original)

Media: Mixed media (colored pencil, graphite, and charcoal on paper)

Style: Dark surrealism with elements of cartoon expressionism and psychological horror. The use of exaggerated, childlike proportions adds to the unnerving contrast between innocence and mental anguish.

A lone figure, bound in a straitjacket, sits slumped and barefoot on the floor of a padded cell. Their expression is distorted with confusion, exhaustion, or perhaps denial. Beneath them, the phrase “THIS ISN’T FOREVER” curves along the floor—equal parts reassurance and haunting reminder.

The padded walls are subtly colored with faded patches of red, green, yellow, and blue, suggesting forgotten memories or moments of fractured joy. Light from a bare ceiling bulb swirls downward, the only clarity in an otherwise gloomy and suffocating room. Shadows lurk heavily in the upper corners, with eerie, mask-like faces watching from the darkness—suggesting the constant presence of judgment, fear, or hallucination.

At the cell door, a figure peers in through a small window. Its blank white eyes echo the watchers in the shadows.