On the painting of Bernhard Winter from 1934, Fritz Byl was depicted as a nobleman. The painting has been in Berlin since 1975 with my parents. I see it when I'm there, for example, when I have a coffee. Fritz Byl was my grandfather. He was a goldsmith and his family's workshop was located in Molenstraat in the town of Leer. Behind a plank of tools was a secret shelter. Therein lay precious stones and the unfinished gold and silver. The completed works were transferred for sale to the store 400 meters away, also on the Molenstraat. My grandfather's sisters sold his wares, and his brother also worked as a goldsmith in the studio. Of them I have only known aunt Nanny.

The work in Middelburg was made as a reminder of that grandfather, but also because Middelburg reminds me of Leer in East Friesland.