2019
Video performance, Color / Sound HD min. 06:08, Camera Pablo Hermann
With my performance “Homes Devourer”, in July 2019 I dealt with one of the most meaningful symbols of the fight against expropriation of private property: Cuvrystraße 50-51.
This part of Kreuzberg was administered by the local government for 15 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall. Thereafter, Cuvrystraße 50-51 turned into the YAAM Club, which lasted until the investor, Arthur Süßkind, attempted to implement his luxury-building development at this location. Since the very beginning, Wrangelkiez residents protested against the new profit-oriented establishment, reclaiming that space for community purposes. Between 2012 and 2014 the ground hosted the “Cuvrybrache”: a campsite that provided shelter to people who needed it most, along with those who live on the fringes of society. In 2014, following an unfortunate event of a fire, the “Cuvrybrache” was evicted. In December of the same year, the Italian street-artist Blu decided to act against the speculation and the commercialisation of his art by covering his iconic mural on the building’s facade in front of Cuvrystraße 50-51 with black paint. At the end of 2014, Süßkind abandoned his project, vacating the highly valuable Cuvry Campus space. The citizens lost their fight: a significant portion of the massive construction is slated to become Lieferando’s headquarters, while the remaining 40.000 square meters will be hosting hotels and offices.
My act takes place in the Cuvrystraße Spree front. The background reveals one of the two facades in construction. With this performance I want to criticize the way urban speculation has been literally “chewing into” Berlin for the past years. Because of the gentrification, most of the city’s spaces have become exclusively accessible only to people who hold a high social status or to business-oriented groups. Gradually, most of the collective and self-organized spaces are subject to eviction and, furthermore, the city is losing many of its art studios, which were formerly considered one of Berlin’s significant highlights. Instead of renting those spaces for cultural purposes, it seems much easier and profitable to sell them for 5000 euro per square meters. It is precisely in this place, which tells us the story of how the “chewing machine” overpowered the will of citizens, I protested with my performance.
I hold a LEGO-shaped triangular brick made of erasers in my hand. One after another I put the bricks in my mouth and chew them. They remain intact, although I keep chewing them. Despite the rubber mass exceeding my mouth’s capacity, I continue my action until none of the bricks remain. The noise coming from the construction site along with the cars’ rumble are blended with the sounds of my body.
still from video, ph and camera Pablo Hermann