Youth, remembrance and creativity in face of society’s identity crisis - the role of memorial sites in Europe
OSZ Lotis, Berlin
tree of hope
Jan, Ibo, Kassem
We chose this theme because we wanted to create
something that was different from the other projects and because we have a good story regarding this theme that also is close to us. First we constructed the structure of the tree trunk so that we could roughly imagine the whole work. Only later we created the details, such as the old cables that represent the roots of the tree and lead to the trunk from four directions. Furthermore we tried to sculpt the structure of the tree with plaster to form it as lifelike as possible. For the treetop we looked for old branches outside which we coloured with paint before we attached them to the tree structure.
the key to freedom
Sarah, Tien, Nikita
Within the workshop at the Berlin Wall Memorial we worked on the objects of a belt bag with the inscription “VOYAGE” and a set of keys. For this reason we also worked on the topic of keys at the art workshop with Roman Kroke (we held our initial presentation on the topic of keys). Those objects were, as well as the watch tower of the Berlin Wall Memorial, our starting point for creating our art work. The object in the memorial, we worked on, was a car key, which had been lost in the course of an escape journey. In creating our art work we met no difficulties at all, as we already knew during Roman Kroke’s initial presentation what we wanted our art work to look like. The material, we needed for that, we found quickly and then worked together consistently. While working together as a group, we developed the details of our work. Everyone of us could suggest ideas to improve our art work and bring in links to her own family history.
The watchtower: from the outside it is blackish-grey and resembles the colour of the life on the Eastern side as we imagine it. From a historical point of view it doesn’t stand in the West part, however people fled into an unknown future, which is why in our work it stands in the West and is only facing East. On the flat roof of the watch tower soldiers are patrolling. The lock is placed close to the fire arm and symbolizes liberation. To get the key for the lock, one has to get by the fire arm, which represents the perils and risks of an escape. The fire arm faces East Berlin so that the people living there are aware of the danger. Onthe fire arm sits a soldier who is guarding the proceedings around the watch tower.
the inconspicuouslife of the volcano
Konstantin
The starting point for my art work was a photograph of a volcano. What does the volcano look like inside, is it dormant or about to erupt? I wanted to make its inner life visible. The artwork consist of the inner parts of a laptop computer. I decided to use a computer for this art work because I use computers on a daily basis to get information, to keep in touch with others and to communicate, in school as well as in my leisure time. For me a computer is an everyday object, it doesn’t get a lot of attention for its own sake, is always there. Just as the persons whom I described in my art work have always been there. Like the inside of a volcano, where you can’t see from the outside what it looks like within, a laptop computer as well hides its technical components such as chips, random access memory or circuit boards inside. From the outside one cant divine what’s going on inside. Creating this art work I thought about what the inner life of people must look like who cannot express themselves freely, who mustn’t show their true feelings and have to shut up. The closed laptop computer stands for these silent people.
two parts of the wall empire
Nevine, Aykut, Alicia, Erdem
In our art project “Two Parts of the Wall Empire” we represent the two sides of the Berlin Wall by a watch tower, a fence and other objects lying on the floor. By means of these objects we also show the different living conditions in both German states. The fence is split through the middle on both sides and stands between East and West. The sides are not actually labelled as East and West because they can be recognized by means of the objects therein. On the Eastern side the objects are grey, black and broken, as it is being said that the East was poorer, the West wealthier. The wealth presents itself in the colourful objects on the other side. During the process of the reunification after the fall of the Berlin Wall, some East Germans had to realise that their life, their education, their professional qualifications were suddenly considered less valuable than those of West Germans. This disparity is being represented by the ripped out book pages that have been attached to the fence.
prison of memories
Alina, Florentina
When you visit a person in prison, you only see him or her shortly and the prisoner can’t leave the prison. It’s the same with memories: For a short moment memories can be recollected by means of photographs but as an experience they stay in the past. The building of the Berlin Wall separated lots of families; they only had their memories and their photos but couldn’t visit each other. The different parts of our art work have different meanings: The two parts of a jigsaw puzzle symbolize people from East and West who come together. The metal grid stands for the border / the wall. The Polaroid photos represent memories. The light bulbs symbolize light and hope.
separation by suitcase
Ali, Xhemajl
In the workshop we took part in at “Gedenkstätte
Berliner Mauer”, we worked on the object of a suitcase. This was the basis which we used and developed in the creation of our art work during the art workshop with Roman Kroke. Our art work embodies a substantial separation. We used two cardboard boxes that represent suitcases, a kind of wall as a separation and some pictures that we glued on to our construction. Furthermore we used dark as well as light colours to symbolize the “good” and the “bad” sides of the Berlin Wall, i.e. of both systems. The wall in between the two suitcases symbolizes the division between the Federal Republic of Germany (“West Germany”) and the German Democratic Republic (“East Germany”). The doors, that we cut out, are supposed to indicate the unity.
