My name is Kai Wiedenhöfer, I'm a photographer based in Berlin and for the past seven years I have been photographing walls that separate people around the world.
I'm now in the process of publishing a book of the pictures from this long term project (titled 'Confrontier'), and my dream is to realize an exhibition of these photographs on one of the most dramatic landmarks of the city I live in: the Berlin Wall.
The concept of the WALLONWALL exhibition is to show the contemporary issues of separation walls erected all over the world on the physical remains of the most famous fallen wall.
Peace begins where walls fall, not where they are erected.
If we reach our target, we will be printing 36 pictures from the project in extra large format (9x3 meters - i.e. 29x10 feet), and we'll be mounting them on one side of one of the longest stretches of the Wall still standing along the river Spree in Berlin.
The exhibition will cover more than 1100 square meters and will create a striking visual experience for the visitors that come to see the Wall every day.
The exhibition will be open for two months, in July and August 2013, and will be open for free to everybody 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It is expected that more than 200.000 people will visit that stretch of the Berlin Wall in the central months of the summer.
Our target amount will cover our expenses for the materials, the printing and the mounting of the pictures.
Since you are probably wondering: we have already all the necessary permits from the relevant authorities in Berlin for the mounting of the pictures on the side of the Wall facing the river Spree. The mounting will be executed by professionals that will ensure the best result.
We also have already realized a successful test last November: a test print was mounted and removed after 20 days with no remains on the wall.
Since 2006 I’ve photographed eight border and separation walls:
Baghdad (700 km)
South-Korea | North-Korea (248 km)
Cyprus | Greenline (180 km)
USA | Mexico (3141 km)
Ceuta and Melilla, Spain | Marocco (8+13 km)
Israel | Palestinian Territories (703 km)
Belfast | Peace Lines (15 km)
The Iron Curtain | former German - German border (1378 km)
Cooperating partners of WALLONWALL:
- Adrienne Goehler is the former cultural senator of Berlin and former Head of the academy of fine arts in Hamburg. She works as curator and creator on various exhibitions.
- Neil Burgess is an agent and editor who has worked with top photographers worldwide for 30 years. The director of Magnum Photos London and New York , he started nbpictures in London in 2003 combining interests in art commerce and journalism, and representing Sebastiao Salgado and Annie Leibovitz.
- Sara Zampieri & Nicola Scodellaro a/k/a pholpo, a motion + graphic design studio based in Berlin.
- Dirk Fütterer is a communication designer with more than 20 years of experience in the US and Germany. Since 2004 he is also a professor at the University of Applied Sciences in Bielefeld, Germany, teaching typography and editorial design.
- Fred Kowasch - born in the former East-Germany - is an investigative tv-reporter for sport and politics. WALLONWALL is his first 90 minute documentary.
- Kickstarter video by Raphaël Lafargue
More info about this photographic project:
You could find more informations on the project website: wallonwall.org
For all questions about WALLONWALL feel free to write to: gate@wallonwall.org
CONFRONTIERS book, published by Steidl
Here are some documentary videos realized about this photographic project:
“Borderlands” Documentary on YouTube
“Grenzgänge” Documentary on the Second German Television ZDF & 3SAT (deutsch)
Feature in “Aspekte” on the Secound German Television ZDF (deutsch)
Risks and challenges
The project has been thoroughly prepared and there are hardly any risks or challenges. We did receive the permit from the municipality in Berlin that allows us to mount the pictures following the procedures tested successfully in the real life-size test.
The pictures have been shot on large-size negatives that allow for high quality printing on big formats (9x3 meters).
The mounting will be executed by professionals to ensure the best results.
Questions about this project? Check out the FAQ