TRUE STORIES

We all have skulls, we all are humans.

I’m living in a small village in the Southwest of France right on the Atlantic Ocean. It’s a good life but it’s also a bit like living in a bubble, you don’t get in touch with the „real world“ too much. War, torture and escape seem to happen in another world, on another planet. But only because we don’t see something it doesn’t mean it’s not there.

One morning a few weeks ago I was waiting for my turn in the bakery next door. As I was reading the local newspaper’s headline about 32 refugees arriving in our neighbor town I could hear the people in front of me discussing the news. They seemed worried. Not worried for the people that had escaped war, terror and destruction but worried for their own lives. They seemed to worry that their comfortable lives would change now. As if these refugees, most of whom had lost everything except their lives, were nothing but bugs – they wouldn’t do any harm but they would penetrate their bubble and disturb their carefree lives. Like a dark spot ruining the beautiful painting.

I was gutted. On this day something inside me changed. As an artist I’m normally looking for inspiration in the unknown, a surreal world that lives from our dreams, thoughts and fears. But now it was time to step out of this imaginary sanctuary. To bring reality to life. To illustrate the reality of refugees. To tell their stories. True stories. This is why I’m here.

The essence of my art didn’t change though. I want people to look closer. This is when their imagination kicks in and the unconscious takes over. Skulls, for example, are only skulls at first glance. But in fact, they represent any human: blacks, whites, Syrians, Austrians, Americans, good people, bad people, workers, doctors, politicians, you, me. We all have skulls, we all are humans. There is a story behind each human, and each story is worth to be told. „