Saturday, November 29, 2014

Es geschah im November

Es geschah im November, It Happened in November by Kani Alavi, East Side Gallery, Mühlenstraße, Berlin

“Es geschah im November” (It Happened in November) by Kani Alavi
East Side Gallery
Mühlenstraße, Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg
Berlin, September 2011

“Nowadays about 800.000 visitors each year come by the East Side Gallery to take a look at the paintings. Kani’s ‘Es geschah im November,’ translated as ‘it happened in November,’ is one of the paintings. His painting shows a wave of people breaking through the Wall. The faces on the painting are not just happy faces – he also drew sad and scared faces. ‘People in the East had gone through a lot and were headed to many uncertainties.’ He is proud of all the work he has done, and still does, for the East Side Gallery: ‘It has really become my life. It belongs to my history, my personal history. It is my child.’” (A Wall to Remember, Faces of Berlin)

See also: Berlin Wall - Test the Rest - Bruderkuß - Stay Free - Without Title - Sonic Malade - Vergesst mir die Liebe nicht - Niemandsland - Many Small People - Curriculum Vitae

1 comment:

Lowell said...

When I first looked at this I thought of Auschwitz and breaking through the fences there.

But the Berlin Wall makes sense...and I agree with the description. Freedom can be frightening, especially if you haven't experienced it for a long time.