The project deals with the typology of the “void”- free spaces that have no prescribed function or have lost their function over time and are freely accessible to everyone. Napoleonkai is a void in the north of Berlin, which was taken over by graffiti artists and has now firmly established itself as one of the 12 “Hall of Fames” (legal graffiti walls) in the Berlin graffiti scene.
The film tells the story of a city that has lost its voids due to rapid growth and densification. Through the eyes and the narrative of the protagonist, the cultural value of the void is visualized and their spatial and cultural qualities and potentials are underlined using the example of Napoleonkai. The protagonist raises the question of the necessity of tough and resilient spaces that are open to appropriation. At the same time she questions spaces that are thoroughly designed, where people encounter a pre-given function and have to submit to a certain layer.
HOW IMPORTANT ARE VOIDS IN A CITY?
DO WE NEED SPACES THAT ARE UNSHAPED?
WHAT IF EVERY SPACE IN THE CITY IS DESIGNED?
CAN VOIDS BECOME SPACES OF SOLIDARITY?
HOW IMPORTANT IS THE APPROPRIATION OF SPACE
IN TERMS OF SOLIDARITY?
HOW DO PEOPLE ENCOUNTER IN VOIDS?
HOW ARE (SHARED) NORMS AND VALUES COMMUNICATED
WHILE APPROPRIATING A SPACE?
These questions formed the base of the project, followed by several studies that were made on the side: Through an artistic intervention, inspired by the „Garbage Wall“ of the artist Gordon Matta Clark, the project explored the extent to which values such as tolerance, acceptance, diversity, solidarity and a potential for appropriation exist and are practiced in the place. Parallel to that, interviews were conducted and observations of happenings at the site were outlined. The results were visually recorded and illustrated in a fanzine – the ‚Napoleonzine‘.
(c) garbage wall von gordon matta clark
(c) garbage wall von gordon matta clark
(c) garbage wall von gordon matta clark
The project deals with the typology of the “void”- free spaces that have no prescribed function or have lost their function over time and are freely accessible to everyone. Napoleonkai is a void in the north of Berlin, which was taken over by graffiti artists and has now firmly established itself as one of the 12 “Hall of Fames” (legal graffiti walls) in the Berlin graffiti scene.
The film tells the story of a city that has lost its voids due to rapid growth and densification. Through the eyes and the narrative of the protagonist, the cultural value of the void is visualized and their spatial and cultural qualities and potentials are underlined using the example of Napoleonkai. The protagonist raises the question of the necessity of tough and resilient spaces that are open to appropriation. At the same time she questions spaces that are thoroughly designed, where people encounter a pre-given function and have to submit to a certain layer.
HOW IMPORTANT ARE VOIDS IN A CITY?
DO WE NEED SPACES THAT ARE UNSHAPED?
WHAT IF EVERY SPACE IN THE CITY IS DESIGNED?
CAN VOIDS BECOME SPACES OF SOLIDARITY?
HOW IMPORTANT IS THE APPROPRIATION OF SPACE
IN TERMS OF SOLIDARITY?
HOW DO PEOPLE ENCOUNTER IN VOIDS?
HOW ARE (SHARED) NORMS AND VALUES COMMUNICATED
WHILE APPROPRIATING A SPACE?
These questions formed the base of the project, followed by several studies that were made on the side: Through an artistic intervention, inspired by the „Garbage Wall“ of the artist Gordon Matta Clark, the project explored the extent to which values such as tolerance, acceptance, diversity, solidarity and a potential for appropriation exist and are practiced in the place. Parallel to that, interviews were conducted and observations of happenings at the site were outlined. The results were visually recorded and illustrated in a fanzine – the ‚Napoleonzine‘.
(c) garbage wall von gordon matta clark
(c) garbage wall von gordon matta clark
(c) garbage wall von gordon matta clark