Berlin in Tears

The Berlin Wall – once one of the most iconic symbols of Germany’s division – no longer exists. Today, only a narrow double line of paving stones traces its path through the city and remains as a subtle reminder – discreet, almost invisible. And yet: its traces remain – in memories, in biographies, in the gaps in between. The Wall was more than a local symbol. Divisions caused by war, oppression, and displacement are part of a global history – and their traumas resonate across generations. This work follows the shadows of the past. Historical photographs encounter contemporary cityscapes – not seamlessly, but fractured, layered. History as echo. The visible is torn open, and the past emerges.

Brandenburg Gate behind border wall and barbed wire, Berlin, ca. 1962 - Historical source: Stiftung Berliner Mauer (F-030742), photo: unknown, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Border soldiers guarding the unfinished Wall in Sebastianstraße, Berlin, August 15, 1961 - Historical source: Stiftung Berliner Mauer (F-023710), photo: Günter Ohlendorf, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Lettering on the border wall 75 at the corner of Zimmerstraße/Charlottenstraße, Berlin, August 31, 1979 - Historical source: Stiftung Berliner Mauer (F-015416), photo: Edmund Kasperski, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Viewing platform on Elsenstrasse, Berlin, 1974 - Historical source: Stiftung Berliner Mauer (F-021073), photo: Hans-Joachim Grimm, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Filling the concrete segments during the construction of the border wall 75 at Zimmerstraße, Berlin, October 4, 1976 - Historical source: Stiftung Berliner Mauer (F-015006), photo: Edmund Kasperski, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Viewing platforms at the border wall on the Lohmühlenbrücke, Berlin, 1962 - Historical source: Stiftung Berliner Mauer (F-021818), photo: private, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Concrete composite and concrete layer wall in front of the Berlin House of Representatives, Berlin, 1971 - Historical source: Stiftung Berliner Mauer (F-021403), photo: Albrecht Roos, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Berlin Wall with border house and watchtower at Lohmühlenbrücke, Berlin, May 1986 - Historical source: Stiftung Berliner Mauer (F-021058), photo: Hans-Joachim Grimm, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Concrete wall near Reichstag at Friedrich-Ebert-Platz - Historical source: Stiftung Berliner Mauer (F-021395), photo: Albrecht Roos, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Visitors to the Wall during the construction of Border Wall 75 at Potsdamer Platz, Berlin, April 1976 - Historical source: Stiftung Berliner Mauer (F-022750), photo: Detlef Machmüller, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Border wall 75 south of the Brandenburg Gate, Berlin, 1989 - Historical source: Stiftung Berliner Mauer (F-023363), photo: Detlef Gallinge, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

All images were shown as part of the group exhibition "What I cannot see is of infinitely greater importance than what I can see"

The historical images used in the collages come from the holdings of the Berliner Mauerstiftung or affiliated archives and were made available under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

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