'Misplaced Earring' was inspired by Ray's favourite room in the National Portrait Gallery — a quiet, atmospheric space where soft, moody light falls across richly coloured walls and intricate parquet flooring. He was drawn to the contrast between the cool daylight filtering through the window and the warmth of the polished wooden floor, as well as the intimacy created by those seated in contemplation.
 
Using his own reference photographs, Ray wanted to capture not just the room itself, but the act of contemplation. He replaced the original works on the walls with three paintings by Johannes Vermeer: 'Girl with a Pearl Earring’, 'The Lacemaker' and 'Girl with a Red Hat'. The central focus is, of course, 'Girl with a Pearl Earring' — her captivating gaze anchoring the composition. She is quite literally “misplaced”… or perhaps Ray misplaced her.
 
Like Ray's earlier painting ‘Perspective', which explored how we view paintings, this work returns to a similar question: who is watching who — the viewers, the girl, or us?