There are several interesting elements to this piece which will give those knowledgeable on the artist the opportunity to understand the messages found within the content in front of us here. The overall composition looks akin to a map with much of the upper half being covered in water, as depicted by a bright blue colour. The land areas in which are covered in doodles, with many heads accompanied by short words and messages. There are then scribbles of black pen across areas of the blue, some of which looks entirely spontaneous and without reason. Actually, Basquiat would plan his designs carefully and every element had a purpose and was a part of an overall composition.
Many of those who have studied this style have suggested that the paintings of Basquiat point to a troubled individual, who fought turmoil within his own mind and that his art was essentially just a visual representation of that. Many of the best and more famous artists, particularly within the 20th century, have suffered a combination of different mental health problems and these issues would often provide some of the inspiration and imagination that lied behind their work. Sadly, in some cases these problems would be insurmountable, such as with Jackson Pollock, who struggled with alcoholism for many years. Individuals such as these would perhaps use art as a form of therapy, and art can be used by many people to help them with problems such as these, whether they are highly skilled or not.
There were screenprints produced as a set of four, which placed this painting alongside Olympic, Leeches, and Liberty which had a small white border between each piece. These were produced after the artist's death and so have been classified as "After Jean-Michel Basquiat" which directly impacted their value, although that was still particularly high, considering as many as 50 were produced. These can be offered a lower prices than his original paintings and mosaics, allowing others to purchase these items, when normally they would not have the budget to purchase Basquiat paintings. Smaller galleries and auction centres can sometimes be employed to sell on these printed copies, and some may be used that are local to those who organise the process.
