Badehaus
The Badehaus is no longer a bathhouse, but it once was. The workers at the train repair station could wash themselves there after a long day of hard work and then head home clean. In the living barracks, there likely weren’t many bathing facilities at that time. If you read the stories about East Berlin […]
Woke
In the Netherlands, there was a TV commercial aimed at teaching boys not to be too pushy with their sexual advances. The background music was The Rolling Stones’ “You Can’t Always Get What You Want”. Fortunately, the commercial ended well—no sex, but there was intimacy—while Mick helpfully sang, “But if you try sometimes, well, you […]
Müll 2
Duchamp was a famous artist who came up with the idea of placing a urinal in a museum, thus transforming it into a work of art simply by changing the context in which the object was placed. Sometimes a trash can is no longer just a trash can, but an art object that has lost […]
A little boy
A little boy, pasted onto concrete. He seems a bit nervous, fidgeting with his hands, his eyes hidden under his cap. There isn’t much space on the concrete, but the artist who placed the boy tried to push him as far to the right as possible. Behind the boy, the concrete reveals a pink wall. […]
Colors
The wall is made of wood, covered with posters and images in bright colors. There are also tags sprayed or written in thick marker. The overall effect is cheerful, and that in itself already gives it meaning. Graffiti has the power to transform neighborhoods from dull, gray areas into trendy, vibrant places where people want […]
Bare brick
When time has erased everything, the bricks return. In this photo, the posters, graffiti, stickers, and plaster are gone, or almost gone—there are still faint traces left. It’s impossible to tell what it all once was, but it’s beautiful as it is now. Brick is beautiful, but it’s not ideal for graffiti or as a […]
Keller Kraftwerke
If you type Keller Kraftwerke into Google, you quickly end up on Soundcloud, a platform where musicians upload their music. It turns out to be a location in Aachen where techno is played. “Wir legen auf und organisieren Veranstaltungen im Raum Aachen” (We DJ and organize events in the Aachen area), it says. The boy […]
Estico
This photo was indeed taken in Berlin, although the Spanish text “Pifiar con estico” might suggest otherwise. According to online translation tools, pifiar con estico means something like “messing up with aesthetics.” That’s not the case here—it’s a beautiful picture featuring a little girl carrying a plant in a bucket. Maybe she’s taking it to […]
Basquiat
Basquiat was an artist from the United States who created raw and unsettling art. Unfortunately, he passed away too soon after living an intense life. This composition reminds me of him and his work—bold and unapologetic. The man’s face is already raw, but the genitalia drawn over it and the mouth make it even more […]
No regrets
A famous psychiatrist, Irvin Yalom, once said that three things are important for happiness: being kind to yourself, being somewhat kind to others, and having no regrets. This image looks like something from the 60s, Thunderbird-like, but with an absurd twist. He has a cat’s head or mask and a strange hand. She is wearing […]