Folke Köbberling & Martin Kaltwasser – Turn It One More Time

PARCELLA SERIE 2007

Folke Köbberling and Martin Kaltwasser excavate 3 large holes in the park. Stairs that lead into the excavations invert the form of viewing platforms, which were once erected by West Germany along the Berlin Wall. These original platforms allowed citizens to look eastward and beyond the division. Now, rather than providing a view over it, the excavations lead down into it, offering a glimpse into the history of the place. The unsealed land reveals former building foundations, cellars, toilets, coal furnaces and more. As a consequence of the artists’ excavations, the stairs bring visitors to eye-level with the ground where the site’s intrinsic biological processes and territorial appropriation can be observed. The abundant presence of plant life underscores the natural potential of the site, overlooked by the interests of commercial development.