Untitled, 2009. Oil on canvas. 240 x 300 cm. Bjarne Melgaard (Norwegian, born 1967) © Bjarne Melgaard/BONO 2011. Statoil art collection

A man is on a beach, crouching in the shallows, up to his chest in water and basking in sunshine. A typical holiday photo – except it has been transformed into a large-scale oil painting. Superimposed are naïve drawings of animals and human figures, as well as text.

The two reindeer-like animals in the back seem to be having a vague conversation about the abuse that has been inflicted upon them. The man in the middle is the artist himself, making this akin to a self portrait. However, the black outlines of two human figures disturb the composition and obscure the main character. Furthermore, this is compounded by the text in the lower right, reading something like “jean paul armand gette/as jean claude/in ibiza”.

Bjarne Melgaard is known for his role-playing games – mixing fact and fiction, and often using material from his own life in his art. The three identities implied in this portrayal are all part of that game.

So…who, or rather what, is this a portrayal of?