I’ve a pretty close association with the natural world. Which includes that of the insects. I ponder endlessly about their whys and wherefores, without coming to any conclusions, of course. They have these really awesome empires and unmatched diversity. All we know is that they die, but their souls take leave, the same as ours. Yet they may be more in tune with the universe than we will ever be.

The earlier version on this theme, for various reasons, was very much liked by many people. Often it was associated with Franz Kafka. I myself had reservations. To my mind, the composition of the image had failed, and the style drifted too much into the fold of illustration for my liking.