an art project for Berlin‘s Brunnenviertel and 31 of its street trees, 2022 – 2024

White trunk protection paint

Client: degewo
Sponsoring/expert advice: Flügel GmbH
Photos: © ALOMS

People from around 70 nations and ethnic groups live and work in the Brunnenviertel. This multeity became the theme for the painting of 31 street trees.

The starting point for the painting was 137 patterns that people from the neighborhood provided me with. In 2022, I was repeatedly present in the Brunnenviertel for several weeks and invited people to bring me patterns of everyday objects such as clothing, tableware, souvenirs, vases, etc. or to photograph them themselves. During encounters in institutions, at district festivals, during spontaneous conversations on the street and in stores, a rich collection of patterns was created.

The collected patterns come from the most diverse regions of the world and reflect the cultural multeity of the Brunnenviertel. The collection was exhibited in the district and was the basis and inspiration for the design I developed for the 31 street trees:

Here, 8 basic motifs meet in different combinations, forming hybrids, overlapping and combining to form a multi-part whole whose individual elements nevertheless remain recognizable in their characteristics.

The paint will adhere to the trunk for 5 – 8 years and the patterns will grow and tangle with the tree and take on a patina of moss and fine cracks.