Because of my Calvinistic upbringing, I was trained to think that what you do has to have a purpose.

I am interested in reconstructing symbols. It's about connecting with an older knowledge and trying to discover continuities in why we search for heaven.

Ruins, for me, are the beginning. With the debris, you can construct new ideas. They are symbols of a beginning.

Buying art is not understanding art.

Art is longing. You never arrive, but you keep going in the hope that you will.

As a child I had no toys; our house was bombed, but there were lots of bricks. Ruins are wonderful because they are the beginning of something new, you can do something with them.

But I believe above all that I wanted to build the palace of my memory, because my memory is my only homeland.

I believe art has to take responsibility but it should not give up being art.

History speaks to artists. It changes the artist's thinking and is constantly reshaping it into different and unexpected images.

I believe in empty spaces; they're the most wonderful thing.

History is formed by the people, those who have power and those without power. Each one of us makes history.

—the longer you silence a violin, the harder it is for it to find its true voice again.

Forgiving and being forgiven frees our souls and lightens our load.

Ideology follows the money.""Governments don't protect people, people protect governments.""To accept the legitimacy of the state is to embrace the necessity for war.

Individuals can spend their money more wisely, efficiently and more humanely than can government.

When I decided to stay in Iraq, I decided to take the fear out of my body and put it into a freezer.

I thought I was really a radical, political person, which of course I am not.

We must see that peace represents a sweeter music, a cosmic melody, that is far superior to the discords of war.

The thing about my music is, there really is no point.

All prayers die in the air which they uselessly agitate.

The position of power and having to make decisions that you don't necessarily want to make is always good conflict and good drama.