Oil and acrylic on birch wood cradled panel, 43x28x2cm.
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The painting traces its origin through layers of contemporary storytelling. The image was inspired by from a poignant scene in Werner Herzog's 2007 documentary "Encounters at the End of the World". In the film, a single penguin separates from its colony and walks toward distant mountains, a 70 km, one-way journey . Online, a still from this scene took on a second life as a meme, humorously paired with existential captions questioning purpose and direction. Internet users adopted the clip as a symbol of "nihilism," interpreting it as a deliberate choice to abandon conformity, routine, and survival in favor of solitary defiance . In But why?, that fleeting internet humour is slowed, reimagined, and given weight. The penguin becomes a stand-in for quiet human curiosity — the choice to move forward not because answers are known, but because something beyond the familiar feels worth approaching. Framed within an arched, icon-like form, the work elevates this small act of divergence into a contemplative meditation on meaning, freedom, and the courage to wonder.