Painted by Frank Otto & Sven Gordon Williams


In fall 2004 Sven Gordon Williams was invited to collaborate with Hamburg based multi media artist Frank Otto. Just like Sven, Frank was driven by the idea to go back to his artistic roots - painting.

Together with Austrian artist Dragan, Frank and Sven were putting the story of The Little Mermaid (by Hans Christian Andersen) into paint. The size of the painting was enormous - about 270 square meters. In fact Sven was hired, shortly after they had started, mainly as a supporting artist to ensure the piece could be finished on time.

The painting was made to be used as a background painting for the Trip-Art movie. Trip is a multi media art-project. It is showing 4 different movies based on the same music performed by the element project - for more information please visit www.trip-movie.com.

After finishing this project, Sven was highly motivated to go on with painting. Together with Ralf he started to think about a visual concept for the 16 songs they had just written for their new album - Moby Dick.
Remembering the great time he spend with Frank, Sven decided to invite him to join in for the Moby Dick painting sessions. Ralf and Sven made the concept, Sven was preparing sketches and layouts and Frank added the idea of using a limited amount of colors to it. He also gave us financial support for the material.

19 beautiful paintings (each sized: 1.8 m x 1.8 m) where realized in spring and summer 2005 (incl. a triptychon and a douplet).

We hope you will enjoy them as much as the music and that we can welcome you as our guests in one of the upcoming exhibitions and performances.



Ralf & Sven

born 1957 in Hamburg.

After training as a paper and graphics restorer at the Hamburg Museum for Art and Crafts, he studied pictorial arts with a focus on painting under Professor Duve at the Kiel Art Academy (Kunsthochschule). As a member of a successful Hanseatic entrepreneurial family, this was more or less the prescribed compulsory exercise; however, at a very early age, his predestined free figures had already opened up a completely different, independent path in the world of music. Frank Otto learned drums and guitar and got caught up the unique breeze that blows across the Elbe and Alster, a breeze that had already enlivened the Beatles and subsequently brought forth a whole series of internationally known rock musicians.

Frank Otto’s bands at the time were “City Nord” – published on independent labels, which at the time was de rigueur and “Goya” were the musical measuring stick was set somewhat higher, so that international producers also took notice. There were a series of singles, which were produced, among others, by no less than John Punter (Brian Ferry, Roxy Music), Rick Lee (Ten Years After), and the “Golden Rider” Joachim Witt, and in part were released by TELDEC. Thus it was just a logical consequence that Frank Otto incorporated his experience from his first phase as a musician in a career as a successful music producer at the end of the 80s. In 1987 he was the founding father – in Hamburg naturally – of Germany’s first format radio station OK-Radio. In addition, he is co-founder of VIVA TV and HH 1, the first city television station in Hamburg. He also holds shares in Delta Radio, Kiss FM Berlin, Energ