The Appropriate Response examines the moment when conflict stops being measured by what happened and begins to be defined by how each side chooses to respond.

A grenade faces an axe. The imbalance is obvious, yet the logic behind it remains unknown. Who acted first? Is one a threat and the other a reaction? Or does each person simply believe their own response is justified?

Part of the Rules of Engagement series, the work reduces confrontation to its essential mechanics: action, reaction, perception, and escalation. What appears appropriate from one side may look entirely disproportionate from the other—and once the rules are defined individually, there may be no shared measure left at all.

Original work by Papayon — Latin American contemporary artist based in Houston, TX. Oil on canvas board, 24x36in. 39x41x1.5in framed. Certificate of authenticity included.