George Cochrane's paintings are derived from collaged images of historic figures combined with popular culture icons. The collaged photographs are transferred as graphite line drawings on a prepared oil ground. As Cochrane paints over the original line drawing, the identity of the sitter shifts and changes, creating a painterly narrative mirroring psychological tensions.

Cochrane's expressive paint handling is at contrast with the slick graphic imagery from which the paintings are derived. As the still familiar images of actors, fashion models and assassins are obscured, a leveling effect is created. The persons portrayed hold simultaneous identities.