John Afflick - Disconnected

John Afflick, born 1967, is an award winning British artist based in Liverpool, England. His artwork is significantly sought after and is held in numerous private collections worldwide. Notable examples of his work are nine large oil panels on permanent display in the Church Of The Holy Innocents, Hammersmith, London.
'Disconnected' is a typical example of his original work and explores his interest in human emotions and spirituality. It is impeccably finished, in perfect condition and is framed ready to hang.
Framed size 69 cm wide x 79 cm high. Image size 69 cm high x 55 cm wide. Oil on canvas. Signed, titled and dated lower left on the reverse in black ink.

'Disconnected', adjective
having had a connection broken.
(of a person) lacking contact with reality.

On first viewing, we could be forgiven to arrive at the conclusion that the subject in the painting has in fact 'lost contact with reality' and has suffered a mental breakdown. The overturned table, the damaged laptop, the smashed bottle and the broken tv set, point to a violent and destructive act, recently concluded.
Yet as with most of Afflick's work, we need to delve deeper to fully understand the narrative.
If we look closer at the clock on the wall, we see the name 'John' written on its face, although this is the artists forename and could be misinterpreted as his signature, it is in fact, '1 John', and refers to the Gospel of John. The time is 2:15 and 18 seconds. If we locate this in scripture, we discover what Afflick is trying to communicate.