Supposedly the Greek god Zeus was quite the womanizer and the story goes, that he turned himself into a bull, to kidnap the pretty Princess Europa, and haul her across the Mediterranean to a place that was to later receive her name. When I was to paint Europa for a group exhibition at the European Parliament in Brussels, I imagined Europa as some spoiled princess, who was just doing her morning thing, getting pretty for the day...

I painted Zeus as both, a bull, but also as a galley, so he could take her across the ocean. As you can see, there is only one oar, but a giant rudder... just a little cynical thought behind it all about our European rulers (the figures piling up in the back ground), who all want to steer the ship, but nobody wants to row. One of the things I find really absurd is, that with a lot of issues we are being told its "one minute to twelve"... for decades. That's why the clock the one figure is holding just shows a random time, as if the hands are broken and just hanging down...