Odenbach's upbringing in postwar Germany was inextricably linked with the country's sociopolitical history, a heritage he addresses in his compositions through the bits of text and images culled from a variety of mass–media sources that often fade into the background of the larger drawings. You Can't See the Forest for the Trees plays on a common expression and is a plea to not only see this particular forest as a forest but also take into account its context: the largest Nazi concentration camp, Auschwitz–Birkenau, was named after the many birch trees surrounding the complex.
Gallery label from Compass in Hand: Selections from The Judith Rothschild Foundation Contemporary Drawings Collection, April 22, 2009–January 4, 2010.
