In the Blink of an Eye. Standstill and Movement

Photography from Kreuzberg, Berlin

Peter Gormanns, Michael Hughes, Ann-Christine Jansson, Wolfgang Krolow, Horst Luedeking, Toni Nemes, Siebrand Rehberg

The West Berlin of the 1970s and ’80s – Kreuzberg, the Wall, dereliction. Many of those who lived here had no other choice. The ruins of war, the struggle for survival, brief moments of happiness and permanent breakdowns. Old-age poverty, foreigners, children and neighbourhoods at a standstill. Except for the life in the streets, since the flats were too dark and too small. The wrecking ball provoked organized opposition. The movement’s photographers came from Great Britain, Sweden, and West Germany. Their view is that of Others, and others look back at them. Curiosity, disbelief. The tension is perceptible on both sides. Created long before the Kreuzberg legend, before Kreuzberg became the in district, these photographs are the legacy of a living space overshadowed by a perpetual grey haze. The colours on the façades came later; the tourists too. An exhibition that most of all shows people who wanted to show Kreuzberg, not their back, but their face. Which remains – as the blink of an eye.