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The East Side Gallery, is located on Mühlenstrasse in Berlin. This mural was painted by Jens Hübner and Andreas Kämper in 1990.
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The East Side Gallery is one of Berlin’s biggest attractions as over 100 artists have been able to adorn the Berlin Wall with works of art. The decoration of the wall gained world wide traction as artists such as Keith Haring traveled to Berlin to paint their own murals. Over the years many artists’ work that once adorned the Berlin Wall are no longer there. However, this 1.3 km section of wall remains standing. The mural on the the left depicts a person attempting to climb over the wall. There is a hand clenching their foot. The unknown circumstances of the mural make it all the more intriguing. Is it a supporting hand, helping to propel the person over the wall, or it is a restraining hand, preventing the person from escaping. This mural encapsulates the duality of the wall’s symbolism. What was once symbol of repression can also now be a symbol of freedom. The East Side Gallery is still the most culturally significant work of art in Berlin and should be on the top of your list.
Did you know?:
As seen in the accompanying photo, what once was a terrifyingly inspiring mural has been vandalized with graffiti tags. In recent years the Berlin Council have made renovations to the wall for its 20th anniversary. These renovations should have come as a relief to the artists but it was in fact the opposite. The artists were told that if they refused to comply with the council that their work would be replaced. The council reportedly offered the artists €3,000 to repaint their work for the renovations and if they did not they would have a forger paint their work instead. This led to the artists filing legal action against the council.