His deconstructed visual language often references artists such as Otto Dix, Willem de Kooning, and Vincent van Gogh. Adrian Ghenie's 'Secret Nativity' (2007) reinterprets the traditional nativity scene within a dark, ominous interior. The familiar iconography of the nativity, represented as a small, glowing silhouette in the background, contrasts with the shadowy, unsettling atmosphere of the surrounding space. The dimly lit, sparsely furnished room evokes a sense of surveillance or secrecy, with blurred figures suggesting an ambiguous narrative of tension or exclusion. Ghenie's signature painterly technique – merging abstraction with realism – reinforces the distortion of memory and history, questioning the reliability of perception. The work transforms a religious symbol into a scene of psychological unease and quiet alienation.