The "Diagram of Commotion and Desire" series of paintings represents Kuo Wei-kuo's return to the "self" after a period of stasis and difficulties in his career and in his personal life. In his self portrait Kuo has made a fresh start, and this series is characterized by a new maturity. By constantly asking the question "Who am I?", Kuo has begun to make himself the "main character" in his paintings; images of Kuo himself now appear repeatedly in his work. Although he appears in these pictures in human form, he is often shown wearing some kind of "prop", such as an animal skin, and sometimes he portrays himself with exaggeratedly long ears, a long nose, or angel-like wings. These seemingly fantastical paintings display considerable similarities with the role-playing games so popular among young people today.

In this particular work, "Riding a Rocking Horse", the rocking horse represents a memory of childhood happiness, while the self portrayed in the painting has elements of malice and mockery, sometimes radiating desolation, sometimes underhand cunning, sometimes refinement and elegance, sometimes bestial evil. The depiction of Kuo Wei-kuo in this painting, half-naked and comically attired, seems to be a reflection of the artist's attitude towards the world and towards inter-personal relationships. What is shown here may be the artist's real attitude, which is normally secreted away in the depths of the heart; it is the reality, desire and imagination that are usually hidden from the world.