Peter Churcher has a number of eclectic objects around his studio such as a skull, barbie doll,  shells and African art. A newly acquired strangely powerful figure seemed to the artist to have an 'anima' about it, calling out to be painted. This work explores the enduring artistic themes of looking at and being looked at, of reality and artifice - the 'African man' catches his own reflections in a mirror that is being held up to him by a 'real man' who on another level is a 'painted man' being observed by a 'real' viewer. As Churcher states, 'This is just one of those images that you catch out of the corner of your eye which insists on being painted.'

Annual Collectors' Catalogue 2003, Lauraine Diggins Fine Art, Melbourne, 2003, p.48