Ball of Balls

After being postponed for a year, the time has come: The European Championship 2020 has kicked off. We see the Red Devils Romelu Lukaku, Thibaut Courtois, Yannick Carrasco and Dries Mertens in supreme concentration, fixated on the objects that will determine everything in the weeks to come. One wonders in which surreal championship the gentlemen would play in the painting 'The Familiar Objects' (1928) by René Magritte (1898-1967)

I Can’t Breathe

Police officer Derek Chauvin has been found guilty of murdering George Floyd, and risks 40 years in prison. Here, he gets a foretaste of what awaits him among the predominantly coloured detainees, in a scene that is inspired by the etching “Newgate Prison Exercise Yard’ (1872) by Gustave Doré (1832-1883).

Shortage of Arms

There is an acute shortage of oxygen for Covid patients in Indian hospitals, but here the god Shiva rushes to help in the form of Nataraja, the Lord of the Dance. The original statue from 1100 can be found in the collection of the British Museum in London.

Big Pharma

It’s no wonder that the vaccines have difficulty reaching their destination, as big pharma sees about as well as the blind hunter Orion. Here the giant wanders in search of the vaccination centres in a parody of ‘Landscape with Diana and Orion’ by Nicolas Poussin (1594-1665). The original is hanging in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
Oil on canvas, 80 x 60 cm, published in Humo in March 2021.

The Deep Fakes of Avignon

Deepfake-apps, that let you make anybody’s face do anything, are not just a worry for the government. The Mona Lisa by Leonardo Da Vinci may well be hanging in the Louvre, but she won’t know what’s happening to her if she sees herself reflected in quintuplicate as the voluptuous ‘Young Ladies of Avignon” by Pablo Picasso, one of the masterpieces in the MoMA in New York.
Oil on canvas, 80 x 60 cm, published in Humo in March 2021.

The Dog Thief

In Los Angeles, two French bulldogs belonging to Lady Gaga were kidnapped in broad daylight. Here we see one of the perpetrators on the run while the powerless mistress seems to be looking on helplessly. The scene is inspired by ’The Problem We All Live With’ by Norman Rockwell (1894-1978). The original is hanging in the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, Massachusetts.
Oil on canvas, 80 x 60 cm, published in Humo in February 2021.

Life on Mars

In fact you find carelessly discarded face masks all over the place. Here, the driving robot Perseverance immediately runs into such a piece of trash after landing on Mars. The red planet resembles a desolate German landscape, like the one captured by Caspar David Friedrich (1774-1840) in ‘Morgen im Riesengebirge (1810-1811). That canvas can be found in the Neuer Pavillon in the Charlottenburger Schlosspark in Berlin.
Oil on canvas, 80 x 60 cm, published in Humo in February 2021.

The Mob

Donald Trump continues to write history, even in his last days as president. The storming of the Capitol by his supporters, who for the occasion look like their great helmsman, is here immortalized in a parody of ‘The Abduction of the Sabine Women’ by the French artist Nicolas Poussin (1594-1665). The original is hanging in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
Oil on canvas, 80 x 60 cm, published in Humo in January 2021.

The British Variant

The small fry have been spared from Covid-19 up to now, but the new British variant could soon change all that. Here an attentive man gives a treat to a boy and a girl, in the background is the ominous scene ‘Girl with Balloon’ by the graffiti artist Banksy. At an auction in October 2018, after the bidding closed, a version of it was partially cut up by a shredder hidden in the frame.
Oil on canvas, 80 x 60 cm, published in Humo in January 2021.

Diego Maradona 1960-2020

Legendary left-footer Diego Maradona has been transferred to the great football pitch in the sky. Maybe he’ll be able to shake the hand of God as thanks for services rendered. Kama and Seele depict Maradona in the form of a madonna: An ‘Assumption of the Virgin Mary’ (1611) by the painter from Antwerp, Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640).
Oil on canvas, 80 x 60 cm, published in Humo in November 2020.

The Trouble Bubble

Nobody seems to knows exactly how many contacts we can still cuddle at home. Just hang this drawing on the door, and you won’t forget it again! In one go you can also pay tribute to Jean-Baptiste Siméon Chardin (1699-1779), the French painter whose ’The Soap Bubbles’ (1733) served as inspiration. The original is hanging in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
Oil on canvas, 80 x 60 cm, published in Humo in November 2020.

Tournée Fatale / The Final Round / Circle of Death

Don’t drop the caterers.
Crises are looming in the world of catering, but Cowboy Henk offers some encouragement in the style of Hans Mening (c.1435-1494) and his ‘Last Judgement’ (c.1467). The original can be found in the National Museum in Gdansk.
Oil on canvas, 80 x 60 cm, published in Humo in October 2020.
Distributed as a poster in the hotel and catering industry in West - Flanders.

Bingo!

“We need to grab the coronavirus quickly by the scruff of the neck”, the virologists beseech us, but for the time being it looks more like it is happily playing / toying with both young and old. Here we see it letting off steam at a pinball machine, in a parody of 'Self-portrait with Bottles' (1938) by Edvard Munch (1863-1944). The original is hanging ih the Munch-Museet in Oslo.
Oil on canvas, 80 x 60 cm, published in Humo in October 2020.

At the Wig Exchange

Blushing infants who get up to mischief together is a timeless image. We see Boris Johnson and Donald Trump in a scene that was inspired by ‘A Boy and a Girl with a Cat and an Eel’ by the Dutch painter Judith Leyster (1609-1660). This work from 1635 is located in the National Gallery in London.
Oil on canvas, 80 x 60 cm, published in Humo in October 2020.

Roll up! Roll up! The Last European Dictator

After 26 years of autocracy, Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko has finally announced reforms. Or is he kidding? Here we see him in a handsome clown suit that represents his country in an adaptation of the canvas ‘Grimaces et Misères’ (1888) by Fernand Pelez (1843-1913). The original is hanging in the Petit Palais in Paris.
Oil on canvas, 80 x 60 cm, published in Humo in September 2020.

The Yellow Bubble

After two months postponement, finally the Tour de France will start at the end of August. But who will cross the finish line first, the riders or the coronavirus? For their image about the Tour, Kama and Seele have taken advice from the French baroque painter Georges de La Tour (1593-1652). His ‘Old Man’ and ‘Old Woman’ (1618-1620) from the collection of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco are watching intently.
Oil on canvas, 80 x 60 cm, published in Humo in August 2020.

And the winner is…

An inferno. That’s what the bunch sprint during the Tour of Poland degenerated into, where Fabio Jakobsen fell heavily after being hit by Dylan Groenewegen. For this fateful scene, Kama and Seele were inspired by ’The Baffled Devils Fighting’ from 1826-1827, an engraving made by the visionary poet and painter William Blake (1757-1827) as an illustration for Dante’s ‘Divina Commedia’.
Oil on canvas, 80 x 60 cm, published in Humo in August 2020.

The Superspreader

Unaware of the harm they do, they merrily exhale virus particles. According to virologists, superspreaders play an important role in the unstoppable advance of Covid-19. If only they were as recognisable as the ‘Girl Blowing a Flute in Birch Forest’ (1905) by the German expressionist Paula Modersohn-Becker (1876-1907).
Oil on canvas, 80 x 60 cm, published in Humo in August 2020.

The Coughing Oyster Eater

A young woman shamelessly enjoying the good things in life: In the 19th century, ‘The Oyster Eater’ by James Ensor (1860-1949) was considered to be immoral, nowadays that innocent scene would again cause a stir. Luckily she is abiding by the catering industry’s stricter protective measures and is wearing a face mask. The original work belongs to the collection of the KMSK in Antwerp.
Oil on canvas, 80 x 60 cm, published in Humo in July 2020.

The Second Wave

It is scary waiting for the second wave, but this pin-up in the style of the American artist Art Frahm (1907-1981) is ignoring the approaching disaster.
Oil on canvas, 80 x 60 cm, published in Humo in July 2020.

What a splendid lockdown they have here

Healthy or not, it seems to be the ideal moment to visit tourist attractions. A person might feel like they were in a painting by the surrealist Giorgio de Chirico (1888-1978), for example Piazza d’Italia (1913). Enter at your own risk.
Oil on canvas, 80 x 60 cm, published in Humo in July 2020.

Still Life Silent Death

This woman, who reminds one of a Black Lives Matter activist, realises we need to get used to warmer times. She is assembling a bouquet of dried flowers in the style of Jean Frédéric Bazille (1841-1870). ‘Black Woman with Peonies’, one of his better works, hangs in the Musée Farbe in his birthplace Montpellier.
Oil on canvas, 80 x 60 cm, published in Humo in July 2020.

Ready for Transport

There is going to be a vote about knocking down all the statues of Leopold II, but why not just package them up? Much cheaper, and at the same time a fitting tribute to the artist Christo (1935-2020) who died on May 31st and who in 1995 managed to wrap the Reichstag in Berlin in shiny material / glossy fabric / glossy material / shiny fabric.
Acrylic on paper, published in Humo in June 2020.

Black & White Lives Matter

The world would appear more peaceful if everyone felt both white and black at the same time, this Bacchus and Venus seem to be saying. The original, ‘Bacchus and Venus’ (c1600) by the master from Antwerp, Bartholomeus Spranger (1546-1611) is hanging in the Landesmuseum in Hanover.
Acrylic on paper, published in Humo in June 2020.

Little Richard 1932-2020

The medical profession likes to juggle with difficult terminology, but here Little Richard gives them a taste of their own medicine with two specimens from the legendary opening line of his classic ’Tutti Frutti’ (1955) in a scene that is reminiscent of ’The Surgeons’ (1926) by Ubaldo Oppi (1889-1942). The canvas is in the Museo Civico di Palazzo Chiericati in Vicenza.
Acrylic on paper, published in Humo in May 2020.

Florian Schneider-Esleben Kraftwerk 1947-2020

Florian Schneider, founder member of Kraftwerk, died last month in Düsseldorf, shortly after his 73rd birthday. Here he performs one last dance for two skeletons, after a woodcut from the Nuremberg Chronicle (1493) by of Michael Wolgemut (1434-1519).
Acrylic on paper, published in Humo in May 2020.

Coronavirus Go Home

Doctors and nursing staff may be too busy to hear it, but this trio also enthusiastically applauds each evening to encourage them, and in the style of Edouard Manet (1832-1883) as well. The original, ’The Balcony’ (1868-’69) is hanging in the Musée d’Orsay in Paris.
Acrylic on paper, published in Humo in March 2020.

The Last Kiss

The coronavirus forces many people to be creative, especially in the case of slightly more intimate relations. Cowboy Henk was inspired by René Magritte (1898-1967) to turn a tender tongue to his beloved safely and discreetly, even though it may be for the last time. The original, ’The Lovers’ (1928) is hanging in the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
Acrylic on paper, published in Humo in March 2020.