Dead Center satirizes that all-American archetype of the cowboy, and specifically the iconic Malboro Man mascot that once rode across Richard Prince’s repurposed promotional posters. Here, however, the results of a crippling addiction to tobacco smoking are laid plain to see, with the cowboy complete with cigarette stained teeth and an asthma inhaler sitting snugly in its leather holster. Set against the backdrop of Epp’s recurring red-curtained stage, and with the addition of a robotic hand, lack of defining facial features and loss of other body parts, the caricature transforms into a carnival-like animatronic, capable of only futile function and with limited mobility. Finally, he increased cooption by the queer community of the cowboy character, once a heteronormative icon of mythic masculinity, is evidenced by the figure's crotchless chaps. Reminiscence therefore of Tom of Finland’s erotic illustrations, Jim French’s fetishised photography and contemporary musicians such as Orville Peck, the queer country singer whose cowboy outfit aids his anonymity, and Lil Nas X, whose all pink ensemble at the 2020 Grammy Awards mixed cowpoke couture with buckled bondage-wear.