See now, that’s what I like about this piece; it’s so tender and moving, and yet there’s also a weirdness to it. It raises questions for the viewer that can either be confusing, or lead them to draw their own conclusions.
All I know is that the strange horror of that wound and the way it is being tended to amplifies that tenderness for me; it hints at dire circumstances and an unthinkably horrible moment, but contextualizes it in such a placid scene, putting the terrible incident in the past without explaining it so that we are just left with the picture of a father doing his best to minimize the “footprint” left on the boy’s life by the tragedy. No doubt, the father is horrified and disgusted by his poor son’s wound, but never allows the boy to see that.
The strange, almost alien quality of the wound just highlights the way it feels for a parent to have to see something bad happen to their child that’s beyond their control, and then to have to find the strength to deal with that and maintain a sense of normality for the child as well.
At least, that’s how it reads for me. 