Len as Paul as Ernie Painting

David Holden’s deeply autobiographical work captures his childhood in the early-to-mid 1970s in Montreal. The seven paintings are of himself and his childhood friends. Their identities are portrayed through former Expos baseball players and the popular glam rock musicians of the time. Each painting is a play on a baseball card and pays homage to a disappearing generation. The Expos no longer exist. The former ballplayers are reaching their twilight years. David and most of his friends have long left Montreal and the rock musicians are relics of the past. Throughout the series, David draws symbolism from Goya’s Manuel Osorio Manrique de Zuñiga (1784–1792). A birdcage is imposed on each portrait, representing a loss of innocence. To further emphasize the loss, a silhouette of David’s model train is seen in each birdcage— a poignant reminder of a childhood lost.