It is a staged photograph, like most of his pictures, depicting a scene that takes place in a basement workshop where, in the foreground, a mechanic tries to untagle a large pile of rope.
This one was staged in a studio, where it was recreated what seems to be a typical basement workshop, with two actors impersonating a mechanic and a possible customer.
He wears mechanic attire and is starting patiently the hard work of untangling a very large pile of rope, lying in the ground, in front of him.
[2] Art critic Robert Nelson states concerning the photograph: "The coils sprawl across the foreground in a convulsive corkscrew, recalling the ancient Laocoön sculpture group./ The symbolism of this motif and the air of resignation in the gent who faces the challenge make a potent emblem of the impossible, or the depressing work of recognising it.
[4][5] The copy held at the National Gallery of Victoria was allegedly bought by $AU 1,000,000, in 2006, but it was a private sale and its real price is unconfirmed.