Since childhood, I think I was about 12 years old, it was my dream to paint a panoramic view of Antwerp.
Due to its complexity, this project needed a huge and thorough preparation: the result had to be not only artistic, but also documentary correct.
I started in 2008 and in total, it took me 1 year and 4 months of intensive drawing and painting. Due to the dimensions, the painting is 5 meters long en 1.75 meters high, my son Walter gave me a hand with the set up.
In the painting, you can find several symbolic references: the hand of Sus Antigoon (which is part of a famous Antwerp legend), a crocodile in the bank as a symbol of global warning, the 3 Afghans from Willem's grandfather writer Willem Elsschot's book "Het Dwaallicht" , and so many more...
