“Before my grandparents got their own fair, they travelled with my grandmother’s aunt Vilhelmine. Vilhelmine had one of the biggest fairs in Northern Europe with fun fair rides as well as animals. She had horses, monkeys, birds, and a lion among others. My grandfather loved to walk the lion, which was like a big pet dog. Vilhelmine’s favorite animal was her parrot. It had a huge vocabulary and was known to be rather provocative.

My grandmother was also called Vilhelmine. The matriarchs in my paintings are inspired by both of them.”