The works in this series and the subsequent MUTTERLAND series have their basis in the concept:

The semblance of a “figurehead” formed by the geographical borders of post WWII Germany.

I took German (Language) in secondary school and I remember thinking, the first time I saw a map of Germany, that I could see the features of a face in it. Pareidolia of a kind I guess, no doubt highly influenced by my unsustained hobby of stamp collecting at the time. Many years later I became involved in the Town Twinning between Seaham and Gerlingen and was invited to display artworks in the town hall (Rathaus). I began working on the concept then, the Der Deutsche Kopf series of paintings were the outcome.

Monika was the first as I had always envisioned that the hair would form the northernmost part of the country. The scarf evolved and became the bearer of both art reference and some meaning within the picture. The explanations of each are for further reading elsewhere. The works are painted on used maps of Germany. I wanted to paint on used maps because they stood a better chance of actually having been to Germany.

Liesl is partly self portrtait, she was modelled on my smile, related to the idea that Leonardo Da Vinci's Mona Lisa was also a self portrait.