I started by looking at what others had done before me. You see, over the years there have been attempts by many different people to reconstruct the chariot.

In practical terms the South Pointing Chariot was a simple direction finder. It could have been made to point in any direction - north, south, east or west.

The original item looked like a little hand cart with the figure of a man mounted on a platform between the wheels. The man's outstretched arm always pointed south.

The dog, the rabbit and the hoop all feature in the painting, and take the place of the orrery.

In the fairy tale the painting represents the here and now. The book is actually divided into five sections, through which the key character, the muse, leads us.

If we listen human instinct actually tells us what we need, but advertising makes us want things we don't need and things we can't have.

The hoop is there to remind us not to jump through it, not to submit to someone else's control.