Enschede & Colin Wilkinson
‘The Healing’ is set in an Overijssels landscape, with a typical tree formation on the horizon. 17th century tile motives ordain the corners of a blue changeable sky, an indication of the country setting and uncertainty of the future. The swallows symbolise the yearning for ones own country from ‘over the water’. This bird is often used in tattoos among sailors. The over present unconformity of flowers that dominate the foreground in this picture suggest a barrier between city and countryside where one might sit to take in the view, a form of meditation and self reflection. The oak leaves represent the years of my flourishing relationship and one acorn the ‘fruit’ from that friendship, a child.
Colin Wilkinson 1955 Bristol England

My first recollection when settling in Twente
The miracle of flying amidst a soft blue cushion white, in a sunny heavenly domain came to a sudden end on February 11 1992 when an aircraft crashed in the city of Hengelo close by. This aircraft, busy with a routine training flight took off from neighbour city airport 8km away at Enschede. There are thousands of flights every year that pass without incident in the busy skies above us. Very occasionally something goes wrong; this was my recollection of Enschede when I first came to live in this area.
Colin Wilkinson 1955 Bristol England