Brandenburg Gate
November 9, 2019 marked the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. And although there is no longer a physical border between East and West, there is still a strong sense of Berlin’s turbulent past all over the city. LA-based artist Diane Meyer visited the former, 104-mile (160 km) path where the wall once stood. The site inspired her to create a reflective series, simply titled Berlin. For the project, the artist embroidered directly onto 43 of her own photographs with pixel-like cross-stitches that obscure areas previously blocked off by the divide.
Meyer has been working on her Berlin series for the past 7 years, meticulously hand-stitching on top of images that were taken in the city center, as well as the outskirts of the city, throughout suburbs and forests. The artist was particularly interested in photographing locations where there are no visible traces of the wall remaining, but where there are still subtle clues of where it once was.
By merging digital and analog mediums, Meyer emphasizes the unnatural boundaries of the wall itself. From The Brandenburg Gate to Checkpoint Charlie, the embroidered sections of each photo represent the exact scale and location of the former wall. The tactile, stitched areas offer a pixelated view of what’s behind the now-invisible border. “The embroidery appears as a translucent trace in the landscape of something that no longer exists but is a weight on history and memory,” Meyer explains. “I am interested in the porous nature of memory as well the means by which photography transforms history into nostalgic objects that obscure objective understandings of the past.”
Meyer's poignant Berlin series is currently on view at Klompching Gallery in New York until January 10, 2019. Scroll down to see some of the images from the collection and check out more of Meyer's work on her website.
Artist Diane Meyer explores the historical divide of the Berlin Wall in her series of stitched photographs, titled Berlin.
Checkpoint Charlie
She embroidered directly onto 43 of her own photographs with pixel-like cross-stitches, obscuring areas previously blocked off by the divide.
Former Guard Tower, Puschkinallee
Olympiastadion
Spree Park, a Former DDR Amusement Park
The embroidered sections represent the exact scale and location of the former wall.
Tegeler Fleiss
Bernauer Strasse
Mauer Park
The stitched areas offer a pixelated view of what’s behind the now-invisible border.
Forest Border Area Near Hohen Neuendorf
Kieler Strasse
Basketball Court Park an Nordbahnhof
Tempelhof
Former Offices of State Secret Police
Former Wall Area Between Rudow and Altglienicke
Ernaberger Strasse
Grunberger Strasse
Potsdamer Platz
East Side Gallery
Stairs at Bosebrucke
Swan Spree Park
Housing Project, Planterwald
Former Wall Area, Landwehrkanal
Treehouse. Former Wall Area, Frohnau
Sacrower Heilandskirche
Interrogation Room. Hohenschoenhausen
Apartments, Markisches Viertal
Glienicke Bridge
House. Former Wall Area Near Lichterfelde Sud
Mitte Benches
Greibnitzsee
Niederkirchnerstrasse
Reichstag
Heidelberger Strasse
Apartment Spandau
Office, Hohenschoenhausen
Diane Meyer: Website | Instagram
My Modern Met granted permission to feature photos by Diane Meyer.
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