The grin found on the faces of the Ill-treated children, a grotesque picture puzzle which includes both the martyrdom and subversion of mankind, is Helnwein's invention. It is manifested in the metamorphic images of injured bodies. It Is an obsessive pattern which is repeated in Helnwein's pictoral representation of the world and in his staged artistic actions, serving as a metaphor for the invulnerability and invincibility deeply seated in man.