The writing version of that is to change the gender of a character.
In a story I worked on recently, I set up a character as the hero's best friend, who would be there thruoghout the story as his conscience. Then a disaster occurs, and another character reports "He's gone." I kept writing, waiting for that character's surprise return, but nope, he was done in.
That sort of thing happens a lot when writing, but in painting it's rare for me.
“Then a disaster occurs, and another character reports “He’s gone.” I kept writing, waiting for that character’s surprise return, but nope, he was done in.”
Thank God Cathy Bates isn’t your biggest fan....;^D