It took me many years of labour to master the silversmith's trade. However, during this practical training I developed a great love for copper. This metal proved to be a very adequate means for representing the First World War, as far as armaments (weapons, bayonet, bullets, helmet, barbed wire) and fire (by means of oxidation) were concerned.
What is more, cylinder-shaped objects (guns, machine parts and bullets) - therefore copper pipes lend themselves well to representing this aspect. Last but not least: the archetypical trench art was made of brass shell cases. In addition to brass (copper and zinc).I used silver (moulded work, sawed coins, sheets, wire), "objets trouvés"(bullets), some precious stones and fossils. Small, complex silver or copper components were put together on a copperplate and attached to a wooden, painted board, in order to create a composition. The different components in their interrelation, colour, form and material, provide all the pieces with "relief".
All of the twenty-nine copper reliefs I created, are connected with the First World War. Sometimes, it was hard to bring the ugliness of this war in line with the aesthetical requirements of the silversmith's trade. Finally however, the intention was not to create beauty but to invite the observer to discover a dimension of the Great War. For that reason, I think I can call myself a "trench artist" from a certain perspective.
