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Before the pandemic began, I travelled three years in a row for one month to Thailand (it was my desire to continue those travels each year).

I came home end of January 2020 with a symbolic rat in my suitcase, an idea for the coming year.

2020 was also the year of the rat according to the Chinese horoscope.

I had seen sculptures of rats at temples, some were clothed festively, some were ridden by man, others were very tiny and almost unseeable at the feet of Buddha (symbolic for prosperity, however a reminder that this good luck shouldn't be taken for granted).

My intention was to master the rat's form until I could slowly transform it into a human being. At the same time raising the question - is a rat a human, or are we humans rats? 

I saw the rat as a metapher for the travellers, who spread Corona all over the world - myself included. 

The last drawing in this series in December 2020 was "Tickles and Prickles". 

After a visit to the hairdressers, many hairs fell into my mask tickling me into near madness. I imagined rats sitting in it and fighting for space. But more importantly, the longed for vaccination was a very short step away, providing a great sense of hope for a very short time. 

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In 2020 I was invited to spend two months as artist in residence in Gmünd, Corinthia.

In those months of June and July, lockdown and reopening made its mark on me. Mostly done in the evenings, over 50 doodles found their way onto paper. They are of course not doodles in the true sense, but in doing them, I found a sense of peace. 

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