The figurative elements in my paintings allow the viewer to read the paintings in different levels and offer a kind of narrative. The external shape of the figurative elements may only be the first trigger which leads to deeper interpretations and reactions. I am less interested in a narrative in the traditional sense than on the narrative potential of our socio-cultural background which predicts and controls our responses.

2. The figure in white in the painting 'Rough - and - tough - hombres' is fully aware of the photographer. Do you see this as viewer awareness now the image is a painting?

Instead of viewer awareness I am curious about the fact that the viewer and the figures in my paintings find themselves in a similar situation. The way in which the figures in the paintings try to come to terms with their environment (many of my paintings show figures watching out or looking for something) mirrors in a way the viewer of the painting who tries to make sense out of it. This kind of repetition or ‘doubling up’ mirrors my working process of exploring the external world through photographs from magazines.

3. Your main source material is The National Geographic magazine from the 1960’s and 1970’s. Did you specifically find that period of time to serve a critical purpose or reason?

I am fascinated by the way in which the National Geographic photographs combine the apparent objective depiction of the external world with an emotional, subjective response. The photographs allowed me to deflate the traditional dichotomies of ‘internal’ and ‘external’. I am interested in an ambiguity which makes it impossible to define something as fictional/real, figurative/abstract in order to create something which is familiar but at the same time alien to us.

4. How do you compare your painting with other German painters, such as Peter Strauss; another figurative expressive?

I am very interested in Strauss’s work and how some of his paintings blur the boundary between the human and the animal in a carnivalesque-like atmosphere. I attempt in my paintings to deflate traditional dichotomies such as internal/external real/fictional and so on. In my view, the interest in boundary-crossing is linked to the interest in ‘the Other’ as something exotic which can not be categorized in a traditional way.

5. The direction you have taken with the depiction of beaches seems to form a natural progression towards child-like memories. Are your memories of childhood linked to the scenes in your work?

My personal memories are not directly linked to my work. I am interested in the child’s perception and the psychological process where the subject learns to make the distinction between self and other. Having spoken before about my interest in boundary-crossing I wonder to which extend the idea of ‘the Other’ is linked to ourselves and our own desires.
The beach as cultural trope seems to offer an ideal arena for this kind of exploration. It is often perceived as place of the encounter with the unknown, as seen in many well-known paintings, literary works and films.