The series of paintings 'End of life' refers to the death of Ulrike Meinhof, Andreas Baader, Gudrun Ensslin and Jan-Carl Raspe. They were among the first generation of the Red Army Faction (RAF , also known as Baader Meinhof Group). The RAF expressed solidarity with oppressed peoples, was anti - capitalist, anti-imperialist and against the Vietnam War, condemned Germany’s Nazi past and opposed the presence of former Nazis in important posts in the post-war German Federal Republic. In the period between 1970–1998, the RAF fought the West German state using the urban guerrilla form of warfare, and carried out acts of violence (bombings, kidnappings, assassinations).

Death

From 1974, the first generation RAF leaders were incarcerated primarily in the high security prison Stammheim in Stuttgart. Ulrike Meinhof (1934-1976) died there in her cell. Officially it was declared a suicide, but the prevailing opinion within the RAF was that it was murder. Second generation RAF members tried to put the state under pressure to release the prisoners, using various tactics. After their final attempt to secure the prisoners’ release failed, Andreas Baader and Gudrun Ensslin were found dead in their cells on the morning of October 18, 1977. The seriously wounded Jan-Carl Raspe died shortly thereafter. The official cause of death was suicide, although this was challenged by part of the RAF.

During various trips to Germany in the seventies, my attention was drawn to the phenomenon RAF, including wanted posters for RAF members and the visible security measures. Later I made drawings of this faction based on photographs. In the series of paintings 'End of life' the themes of imprisonment and death stand central, against the backdrop of unrealized goals and ideals, increasingly violent activity , social isolation and the loss of hope of liberation.
The (illegible) textual structure in the background of the painting is constructed from writings on the RAF and the relevant RAF member. The words that are legible form short citations from descriptions of the situation in the cells following the discovery of the dead and seriously wounded prisoners. In the painting on Ulrike Meinhof this quote is preceded by her statement 'Wer nicht stirbt wird lebend begraben'.

Translation of the legible words on the painting:
- 'Wer nicht stirbt wird lebend begraben. Ulrike hing leblos am Gitter ihres linken Zellenfensters'.
- 'Who doesn’t die is buried alive. Ulrike Meinhof hung lifeless from the bars on the left window of her cell'.