Gliding through the streets on my bike, project space Tacho KREUZBERG came as a surprise, even with Google maps as my guide. Nestled within a playground Am Wassertorplatz, this tranquil location hosts an exhibition by Birte Endrejat entitled 'It's all Yours'.
In this installment of her 'flüchtiges Lineament' series, Birte Endrejat considers the temporary architecture of the construction site. Laden with inconsistencies, the aesthetic fascination of these architectures with their own forms is the basis of this exhibition: miniature street signs and billboards that replicate the anticipation of the luxury apartment block in the neighbourhood. What is interesting is the presumptuous rhetoric of these developments - "Freuen Sie sich auf..." (Look forward to...) - and the total disregard for the negative consequences of such building projects on the living conditions of people in the vicinity.
Endrejat brings these people back into the equation, their emotions and the discussions that ensue when one's territory is threatened by the behemoths of big money. The exhibition also presents a list of initiatives concerned with the social impact of urban redevelopment in Berlin, showing the diversity of approaches available to shape the city for the better. The disjunction between the urban design of the luxury apartment construction site and these projects is somewhat depressing, as the title leads us to question what is really ours in the city and what is promised to us with no chance of fulfilment?
The exhibition is stirring without being didactic, and lucid without being egotistical. We implore you to visit.
Birte Endrejat, It's All Yours
at TACHO Kreuzberg (link), Oase Verkehrsgarten, Am Wassertorplatz, 10999 Berlin
20.07.16 - 30.07.16