Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
TOP FIVE EAST SIDE GALLERY MURALS
You'll most likely find your own favourite among the 100 or so murals, but here's our
take:
It Ha
It Happened in No
d in Novemmber (Kani Alavi) A wave of people being squeezed through a
breached Wall in a metaphorical rebirth reflects Alavi's recollection of the events of 9
November 1989. Note the different expressions on the faces, ranging from hope, joy
and euphoria to disbelief and fear.
Test th
e Rest (Birgit Kinder) Another shutterbug favourite is Kinder's painting of a
GDR-era Trabant car (known as a Trabi) bursting through the Wall with the licence
plate reading 'November 9, 1989'. Originally called 'Test the Best', the artist renamed
her work after the image's 2009 restoration.
HHommage t
t the R
g Generatiion (Thierry Noir) This Berlin-based French artist has
done work for Wim Wenders and U2, but he's most famous for these cartoon-like
heads. Naive, simple and boldly coloured, they symbolise the new-found freedom fol-
lowing the Wall's collapse.
Detour t
e to th
o the Y
e Youung G
e Sector (Thomas Klingenstein) Born in East Berlin, Klingen-
stein spent time in a Stasi prison for dissent before being extradited to West Germany
in 1980. This mural was inspired by his childhood love for Japan, where he ended up
living from 1984 to the mid-'90s.
My G
ur to th
o the J
e Japanese Se
My God, Help Me Sur
dly Love (Dimitry Vrubel) The gallery's best-
known painting - showing Soviet and GDR leaders Leonid Breshnev and Erich Ho-
necker locking lips with eyes closed - is based on an actual photograph taken by
French journalist Remy Bossu during Breshnev's 1979 Berlin visit. This kind of kiss
was an expression of great respect in socialist countries.
d, Help Me Surviive a
e amid Th
id This D
is Deadly L
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