This painting depicts Hohenzollern Castle, one of Germany’s three most celebrated castles.

Perched high on a mountaintop, the castle is sometimes described as a “castle in the sky.” When surrounded by a sea of clouds, it takes on an especially dreamlike appearance. I imagined this sea of clouds as an actual sea and created another world beneath its surface.

The history of Hohenzollern Castle dates back to the 11th century. Over the centuries, it was destroyed and rebuilt several times before taking its present form in the 19th century.

Beneath the water, I depicted these accumulated layers of time as a descending stairway. As we follow the steps downward into the past, we encounter traces of politics, economy, culture, and the everyday lives of people—all of which have gradually shaped the world we inhabit today.

Deeper still lie ruins evoking the age of the Roman Empire.

How far does the stairway continue as it disappears into the darkness of the sea?

Beneath the place where we stand today, countless unseen layers of time quietly remain.