Oil, acrylic on cradled wooden birch panel, 25x25x4cm. (Painting on the front, secret drawing on the back!) For purchase enquiries contact us at info@louisemcnaught.com or thr chat box. 
The baby monkey ‘Punch’ clings tightly to a plush toy version of himself — a soft, wide-eyed surrogate that echoes his own smallness. The toy becomes a stand-in for comfort, for the mother he doesn’t have, for the safety that was missing in the original story. His arm wraps protectively around it, not playfully, but with the quiet urgency of a child seeking reassurance. The gesture is intimate and instinctive.
Set against a muted circular field, the composition feels contained, almost like a relic or devotional image — elevating a fleeting viral moment into something contemplative. The faint drips behind them hint at a past that cannot be undone, but they do not dominate the scene. Instead, tenderness does.
This painting reclaims Punch from the scroll of the internet. It removes him from spectacle and restores him to subject. No longer a viral clip, he becomes what he always was: a baby in need of protection, comfort, and care.