"I hope she won't mind my leaving" by Erik Pevernagie, oil on canvas, 100 x 80 cm

Imagine a celebration or a reception. In the heat of the party, someone wants to sneak away. But nobody wants to be a killjoy.

Some may act as 'crepehangers' merely by their presence or by their disturbing behavior.

Others can't help being annoying sourpusses through their lack of enthusiasm.

Fearing they could spoil the general mood and be a nuisance, some might prefer to leave the location without anybody noticing it. By doing so, it may create tension. "Shall I go or shall I stay." This tension between presence and absence, between staying and leaving may unsettle some participants. When leaving, they may arouse an impression of letting down friends. When staying, they may give the feeling of being bored.

Still, others participate for personal profit. Helping out people in difficulty can be a noble cause. Some will always bear in mind your generosity and remember you forever; especially when they wise up, they are in trouble again.

Social gatherings, not infrequently, grow into the scenery of funny episodes on a Brueghelian canvas or become a psychosomatic arena with displays of emotional outbursts. They can indeed arouse confrontations of absence and attendance, of presence, past, and future.

Presence or absence, staying or not staying, waiting or leaving: it is essential is to ask the question: to be or not to be.

Phenomenon: Presence or absence, leaving or staying

Factual starting point of the picture: Person leaving the place