Wouter Berns

Leave me by Wouter Berns is a profound surrealist reflection on retreat, protection, and the transformative power of literature. The painting shows a barefoot figure in a sparse, light-filled environment, holding an open book over their head like a protective roof. The title Leave me serves as a clear statement of the need for isolation and autonomy. In this context, the book evolves from a mere carrier of information into an architecture of privacy—a mobile home that hides the reader from the gaze of the outside world while simultaneously opening up a space for one’s own inner reality.

In Berns’ surrealist language, the book becomes a place of refuge where covers serve as roofs and pages as supporting walls. The posture of the figure—crouching and firmly clutching the book—underscores the idea that one can be at home within oneself when surrounded by stories. The work portrays reading not just as an act of education, but as an existential sanctuary that makes life manageable and bearable. It is a tribute to silence and the conscious decision to withdraw from the world for a moment to find solace within the infinity of the pages.