From 2021 to 2022, Gesche Würfel was a fellow of the Berlin Wall Foundation at Künstlerhaus Bethanien. Her photographic exploration of the topography along the division of the country is now being published as a book by DISTANZ Verlag. Together with Rebecca Wilton, the artist talks about the project The Presence and Absence of the Berlin Wall.
Gesche Würfel drove along the Berlin Wall Trail and stopped every 2.8 kilometers – for 28 years of Berlin Wall history – to document the actual state of the dividing line in Berlin and Brandenburg. The artist also collected material from the Stasi Records Archive and spoke to contemporary witnesses such as political prisoners, former guest workers and people from politics and culture about their memories. The artist creates a multi-layered panorama and portrait of a Germany whose division and reunification still shape the country today.
Gesche Würfel is a visual artist, urban planner and sociologist. From 2021-22 she was artist-in-residence at Künstlerhaus Bethanien. She lives and works in New York.
The author, critic and curator Rebecca Wilton has been responsible for the photography program at Distanz Verlag since 2023. She lives and works in Berlin.
The event will be held in German.