I am an artist, but also a political person. For two decades I have reported on German and international politics as a journalist. As a reporter, I was in Africa, Asia and crisis areas such as Afghanistan, Iraq or Gaza and nowhere is the situation black or white. "Black and white thinking" stands for extreme or undifferentiated thinking in German - on the other hand, I paint my colorful zebras!
Zebras are puzzling. To this day, the secret of her stipes is not completely understood. Apparently, they deceive predators with their special fur line drawings! A lion can hardly fix on a single victim in a zebra herd. The tangle of their stripes protects the animals from enemies. Even mosquitoes can be confused by zebras. The stripes apparently make landing on the fir so difficult that zebras are much less likely to be affected by these bloodsuckers than horses.
Zebras are indomitable. Hundreds of years ago, English, French and German colonists in Africa tried to keep zebras as farm animals. To this day, it has not been possible to dome them like horses for riding or like donkeys as load carriers.
Zebras are a symbol of freedom for me. I translate this freedom into joy of color, As a painter, their stripes give me an opportunity to put complementary colors against one another. Zebras are very individual. No animal is like another. Each has a unique stripe drawing.