Friday, August 23, 2013

Every Border Wall has a Similar Story: A Photo Essay of Borders Around the World




For more information visit the Wall on Wall website.

Kai Weindenhofer photographed the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 as a university student living in Berlin. He was deeply moved by the history-in-the-making event and truly believed with so many others that the fall of the wall meant that border walls would never again be used as “political instruments.”  He was wrong, of course. The construction of the borders in the Occupied Palestinian Territories caused Weindenhofer so much shock, anger, and concern that he decided to document the erection of the wall and its surrounding controversies. Then in 2006, he dedicated his time and expertise to a project about borders throughout the world, specifically to demonstrate that border walls are ineffective and destructive.  

Weindenhofer believes that a border wall as a barrier is a reflection of “human weaknesses and errors.” Border walls exacerbate the issues and inhibit the resolution of problems. In historical terms, he compares the border walls to the Berlin Wall, and believes that by tearing down border walls peace will ensue. 

Exhibition:

The photo exhibition is displayed on panels of the Berlin Wall, what’s left of it, at the following address:
Berlin Wall MuhlenstraBe – 12043 Berlin-Friedrichshain on the Spree River side called the East Side Gallery.

The exhibit runs until September 2013.

Photographs:

The photos are panoramics measuring 3 meters X 9 meters.  Wiendenhofer has photographed eight border and separation walls. These include the following:

Baghdad; South Korea/North Korea; Cyprus/Greenline; USA/Mexico; Ceuta & Melilla, Spain/Morocco; Occupied Palestinian Territories; Belfast/Peace Lines; The Iron Curtain/former German-German border.

Photos taken on site:

The following are photos I took of each wall panel.





Tijuana/USA













Juarez/USA




















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