In this large-scale work, the "eerie" displacement of Merrill’s practice reaches a domestic peak. A life-sized deer rests atop a quilted green bedspread, its presence oscillating between a peaceful inhabitant and an impossible intrusion. Set against the wood-paneled nostalgia of a mid-century interior, the scene unfolds like a fever dream of the American pastoral.

The deer serves as a hollow witness to the private spaces of the previous century. While the landscape painting on the wall offers a controlled, framed view of nature, the deer itself is wild yet unnervingly still: a living ghost in a manufactured sanctuary. The piece highlights the sharp disconnect between the neoliberal promise of a secure "home" and a natural world that has been displaced, stuffed, and eventually reintroduced into our most intimate settings.