PARASITÄRE VERHÄLTNISSE UND DIALOGE

Underground Station Alexanderplatz U2, nGbK, Berlin

2002

Berlin’s Alexanderplatz metro station, a space increasingly dominated by economic logic, the act of “leaning” becomes a poetic act of resistance. Over a period of two weeks, I spend some time observing people in the subway. I watched how they walked and how they responded to the architecture and structure of the station: What directions were the people traveling in? And where were they briefly stopping? I was interested in how the people related to the architecture around them, even if they were there only for a minute – for example: how they would lean on the handrails, pillars, or the random boxes that one finds on the platform. These are places where people create private space without any physical effort, casually and at short notice. I have noticed that some areas of the station are used more frequently than others and that all are used in different way. I have decided to emphasize these different places in the subway station by positioning cushions in different sizes; these cushions reflect how frequently these places are used. The cushions are not striking, but they are certainly noticeable when used. Because these were the favorite places of visitors in the station, the cushions were used a great deal. The moment of casual use and the action of leaning were both carried out more intensely: The passers-by settled themselves into the cushions: reading, lolling, lounging, dreaming, etc.. Or they themselves became interested observers of what happened in the subway station, just as I was. It was not obvious that this installation was meant to be art since its design was influenced by the design of Berlin’s public transport system. Taken as a whole, the 62 cushions form a superordinate system of unusual functional markings. (Stella Geppert)