The ATMs at the RAW Gelände are all broken. Yet, they still serve a purpose—they’ve become art objects with an anarchist edge, perfectly fitting the vibe of the area and the district of Friedrichshain, a neighborhood in East Berlin known for its famous techno clubs with long queues, cheap food, and crowds of young people wandering the streets at night with bottles of booze.
In Berlin, paying with cash is appreciated, and card payments are often discouraged. This might have something to do with tax declarations—cash is easier to hide. It fits the city’s character, which tends to resist rules, authority, and order. The paradox is that an ATM dispenses cash but is always controlled by a large financial institution—anarchist and capitalist at the same time.