It's fascinating how a new, powerful whole suddenly emerges from the arrangement of simple shapes. In my work, these shapes are inhabited. Such a building is like a life that aligns itself clearly and powerfully with a simple idea. Many of my flying objects are equipped with sails, engines, or propellers. Here, that's not necessary. These are inhabited ideas. They are connected to the physical world more metaphorically.

Backyards from Stuttgart-West and a dune landscape in northern Jutland meet here. A cloud accompanies the flying city. Is it a kind of sail, or does the city perhaps draw the necessary energy from it? I had already designed the flying structure in 2015. Nine years later, a new image has emerged from it, and the city has finally arrived at its destined location.

A vast landscape in Namibia and an airship. It was created from the medieval city gates of Neubrandenburg. The background image is by Sonja Schubert.

This is about a truly long journey. I imagine that after a break in life, after much suffering and confusion, something has been resolved. Someone sets off on a journey. The building is not new, it is not really beautiful. But it offers protection from the "wild world". This makes it precious. An image of a late development. The background image is by photographer Ulrich Schmidt.

It is fascinating how a new, powerful whole suddenly emerges from the arrangement of simple forms. In my work, these forms are inhabited. Such a building is like a life that aligns itself clearly and powerfully with a simple idea. Many earlier flying objects were equipped with sails, engines, or propellers. Here, that is no longer necessary. These are inhabited ideas. Their connection to the physical world is more metaphorical.

This flying object has a strange dynamic of its own. It's essentially abandoned industrial buildings, not very inviting. And yet it floats above the sea. Art and life are sometimes like alchemy. Something old, used, develops its own dignity and begins to fly.

A palace, an inn. The building looks rather uninviting and somewhat dilapidated. Nevertheless, it is an important, very personal place where one can look at old things and leave them behind. The demons live here, but they are not dangerous here.

This collage was originally created as a vinyl record cover. The image shows a moment of dreamy agreement with the world. A kind of all-encompassing infatuation. And also a kind of self-sufficiency in inner freedom. Or perhaps the official residence of a cloud gardener.

Here I experimented with the houses of the famous city of Grasse in French Provence. I was drawn to combine the cheerful ensemble of houses with something technical. The turbine used here comes from an aviation museum in Munich. It stands for energy, but is also something of a symbol of wholeness. Together with the moon and the stars, it perhaps stands for the power of the imaginative and of dreams. The building in the sea is taken from St. Mary's Church in Wismar.

I was inspired to create this picture during a trip to the French Riviera. The houses are from the town of Menton on the Italian border. I waited there for half a day until the sun was finally in such a position that I could photograph the houses without disturbing shadows. A picture that reconciles two fundamental needs: being at home and being on the road. Homesickness and wanderlust.

I was inspired to create this picture by a visit to the medieval town of Hameln. The half-timbered houses there are playful and adorned with numerous mythical creatures. I wanted to send this architecture on a journey. As a contrast to the opulent architecture, I chose the barren coastal landscape of the Zingst peninsula on the German Baltic Sea coast.

This image originated from an earlier collage, which was more of a playful experiment with letters. But there was more to this image. What emerged (as so often happens) was a representation of a worldview or a perspective on ourselves: the measurement of life's achievements. A relentless view that subordinates everything to utility. This perspective is very old, and many seem to consider it essential for the future.