My work is made from an outside perspective looking into what is happening in this big overwhelming world. I’ve always felt excluded from the norm because of my difficulties in school. now that I’m older I see that school is just a smaller version of a much bigger system, and I’m still having trouble adapting. That’s why I thrive in solitude. When I’m on my own there is no one interfering with my thoughts. It really feels as if my head is penetrated by people who speak louder, which makes my own thoughts go blurry. In dreams the purest version of myself takes the lead. Not even my rational thinking disturbs my creative mind to be free and wander off into the depths of absurdness. Thus a lot of inspiration for my paintings is extracted from reflections on dreams. They seem random at first, but there’s always a deeper message hiding under that layer of abstractness. I find it fascinating what the mind is capable of if it’s permitted to go where it leads itself. These dreams touch me deeply and teach me a lot about the way I’m wired, about the true me that I often hide in social situations, but also really wants to show itself. That’s what I try to achieve through my work. Art is the way of expressing what’s inside of me where words and my social capabilities fall short. I see a correlation between my personal issues and the problems with this man build capitalistic system we call the western civilization. I think personal and social problems are very closely linked. A society, whatever scale, lives as one organism containing cells who have to work together in order to survive. Just as individuals have to work with all their personal traits, positive or negative, to thrive and be the best version of themselves.
As a white, straight man, I am aware that I was born privileged. In a strange way I feel ashamed and responsible for what white straight men did, and are still doing in this world. Even though I, as a person, wasn’t there in history, and try my hardest not to be as those white men before me. The obligation to make up for it, to heal the wounds, to pay back the depth we owe, runs very deeply in my veins. I hope my art can contribute to that process, and encourage others to do the same, so that we can one day live in harmony in this beautiful place we call earth. Because my most recent paintings are most connected to these subjects, I decided to submit 4 works made in 2026, alongside one from 2024.
