The background to this watercolor is as follows: Our son, horrifically, died suddenly last autumn at the age of 19; our daughter found him dead in his bed. Our two children were emotionally close. A friend of our daughter subsequently painted this four-part watercolor for us, which depicts the death of our
son's visualized.
For me, this watercolor symbolizes friendship and respect, because it shows the empathy with which my friend feels connected to us and how deeply she can empathize with us. She respects our grief and our open approach to it; she brings our son's death to our attention. His death thus takes on a face, and for us, it loses the horror of the incomprehensible. At the same time, this watercolor in the entrance area of our hotel offers all guests the opportunity to enter into a dialogue with us about our deceased son, thus helping our guests overcome their reservations.
Furthermore, the watercolor represents a plea for us not to exclude death from our society. Especially as bereaved parents, we feel that death and grief are given little space, because in our society, it is more likely that older people will die, often in hospices or nursing homes. Nevertheless, death is as much a part of life as birth. Therefore, the watercolor is a plea not to exclude death and grief, to be "tolerant" of death and to accept it as a natural part of life.
