Berlin - Afterimages

Summary

Even after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Neo-Classical monuments (mostly located in and around Unter den Linden) still show the traces of a recent war history. The pillars and walls, scarred by bullets, form a stark contrast to this architecture, which expresses the inviolability of power and greatness. These 19th-century buildings, designed by the architect Schinkel, are now being restored, and will soon once again form the representation of the German Reich. The residents of Berlin see their city slowly changing into a living museum.

It is this environment in which the artist Ulay works on a series of photographs that ask questions about the content of all the social and political changes in Berlin. This short film takes us on a journey along the 19th-century neoclassical architecture of Berlin. A series of imposing facades gives the impression of a once-grand but damaged past. After the renovation of these buildings, the political system has created the opportunity to present its old ideological mantle as something new. The images were shot in negative, which allows the viewers to form their own ‘positive’ afterimage.