The fantasy genre is the perfect playground to bring my diverse interests like nature, folklore, history and philosophy into new perspectives. I love to play with symbolism, especially if words fail to to convey a certain feeling or psychological state.
Prints and original sketches are available in my Ko-fi Shop!
In the Bog
This piece is mainly inspired by a photo of the Tollund Man. Danish peat cutters found this more than 2000 year old bog body from the iron age during their work in a raised peat in the 1950s. The mummy is one of the best preserved finds of this kind. The Tollund Man didn’t die in the bog, but was rather tossed there after being hanged for crime or as a ritual sacrifice.The well preserved facial features and the calm, almost peaceful expression mesmerized me and I couldn’t wait to pick up my color pens and brushes.
The body is so well preserved thanks to the main characteristic of peat bogs: sphagnum moss. These mosses don’t have roots, they grow steadily and simultaneously die back at the base. The dead plant matter becomes entangled with other plants and sediments, building up layers upon layers of turf, about 1mm a year. Organic matter caught up in these layers is overgrown further and further. The decomposing process is nearly stopped, due to a lack of oxygen in water and peat as well as the quite acidic environment. If we would dig down 1 meter into the turf, we’d be able to find plants, seeds, ceramics, coins, bodies and much more from a century ago. That’s why peat bogs are also known as living archives.
In my artwork I tried to recreate a small part of a raised peat bog with typical plants such as Eriophorum (cottongrass) and Comarum palustre (marsh cinquefoil). You can also see red sphagnum moss patches forming hummocks and green mosses in the water. Also, a common European adder is passing by, who prefers habitats with high humidity.
Stream of Consciousness
Sometimes the sheer amount of new ideas lets our brain overflow and we are not able to grasp even a single one of them as they float away in a stream of consciousness.
Blood Eagle
Sunset
Original work (2024). This piece is both inspired by norse mythology and Grimms’ fairy tale about Red Riding Hood. According to the Edda, the wolf Skalli is chasing the sun and will devour it during Ragnarök, while his brother Hati chases the moon.
In my work, the wolf also represents the night, that devours the day. Or even the winter taking away the summer sun.
Entangled
Becoming the Forest
Personal Work
