EN
Kurt has been living on the streets since 2015. With the death of his wife, a deep downward spiral of alcohol, fraud, jail and violence began.
Claudia's parents died when she was in the middle of finishing her studies. Her boyfriend later left. Depression and petty crimes made her an opponent of the system.
Bodo is the good soul of the Warmer Otto, a facility for the homeless. He volunteers more than 40 hours a week. He was denied a chance in life from the start.
Unhealthy love affairs introduced her to hard drug use, and revenge landed her in jail. Today, her taste in men is still the same, but her attitude towards heroin is different.
Hannes has been addicted to gambling since he was 9 years old. Today the only thing the musician drums on is an ATM. After losing everything, he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. To this day he suffers from depression.
Klaus has been living on the streets for over 20 years and longs to feel as though the state requires him once more - to be challenged. He is the self-proclaimed "King of Gesundbrunnen" - the name of the station where he sleeps.
Photo Exhibition - 2018
Production: Aurelia Kanetzky, Nikolai Kotowski
Most of us can’t imagine ending up living on the street. These Berliners once thought the same. Through their strength and generosity, they granted us insight. How they are now and how they could have been – a photo exhibition that asks you to look twice and reconsider your biases.
In KEIN MENSCH IST AUS ASPHALT, homeless Berliners revealed all, moving from the streets to a studio and thus into a role that had long been denied, or perhaps never granted. With these photographs, they became people who believed they were immune to the asphalt. The photographs show how fleeting the transitions between two lives become, and that no human being is made of concrete.
As part of the 48 Hours Neukölln Art Festival, the life-size photographs were exhibited in the Neukölln Arcaden. Upon entering the shopping center, visitors were met with several glossy fashion shots of these individuals. It was only on their way out onto the streets that they were confronted with the reverse side and thus the reality. The stories of these people were displayed next to the photos to serve as reminders that we all have to do our part to ensure that the road does not become a dead end.