photos: Gili Shani.
I first met Gili Shani when he took my photo on a Wednesday night three years ago in KitKat. It may seem ironic that one of the most famous sex clubs in the world has a photographer, but no evening by the pool would be complete without the sleek, black and white moments he conjures. Shani refuses to call himself an artist, instead insisting that he simply captures the atmosphere inside KitKat. His photos offer a taste of what happens within the fabled walls of the notoriously hedonistic space. However, his work simultaneously subverts the sexual nature of the nightclub, “What I do is documentary,” he says, “it has nothing to do with sex.”
I sat down with Shani at Alexander Platz for a coffee and chat about his time in Berlin, his work in KitKat and what he’s been up to during quarantine.
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by Adri | Party, People
A luscious jungle without any tourists in it? An empty underground train wagon and a super high up rooftop without any spectators? Yes, these places really are in Berlin and not part of a dystopian fantasy. And they are waiting for you to take your picture with them!
Leipziger Platz, the little brother of Potsdamer Platz, now has a new attraction to show off – the Studio of Wonders. The Selfie Paradise follows in the footsteps of a new wave of Selfie Galleries that have emerged as an ongoing trend worldwide. Born from Instagram’s ideal to constantly deliver new exciting photographs to show off to an online audience, the Studio of Wonders helps his curious visitors to create new content with 20 different dreamy and unusual scenes on 500 spacious square meters.
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by Franziska | Photos
photos: Red Rubber Road.
Today we want to share a photo series with you, that is a bit of the opposite of our Finally Together Again series from yesterday that celebrated a physical togetherness and how meaningful it can be in these trying times. What was possible for our team where all members live in Berlin, is not the same for those collaborators, friends, families, lovers that don’t live in the same country during the pandemic. The artist duo AnaHell and Nathalie Dreier where one of those that were separated by the quarantine measures of different countries. We published their Quarantine series at the beginning of the lockdown and it really hit a nerve. That series was actually produced way before in another context, but it perfectly captured the bizarre atmosphere of the early stages of the pandemic measures.
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by Frank | Art, Pandemic, Photos
photos: Lovis Ostenrik.
What an unusual time it has been. I feel excited and uneasy, that we can with absolute certainty say, that this year has truly not been like any other year of our lives. Staying inside and not being able to see our friends and family for an uncertain amount of time was a tough new challenge.
Never before have I missed human connection as deeply as I have during these past months. I can’t imagine the consequences this will have on human interaction for years to come. To now be able to finally meet people again actually brings my heart rate up. It made me realize how important a sense of togetherness is, more than I ever thought possible.
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by Franziska | Fashion, Photos
Now that the quarantine rules seem to be easing down and more and more people start to brave the outdoors, we’re all turning our attention to the surrounding environment that some of us tried to avoid for many days. The art project Claude is making this experience more inspiring by placing artworks in the urban space for all of us to discover.
The project Claude is devoted to creating unconventional encounters between art and audiences. Rather than rescheduling their program of events due to the pandemic, the creators behind the project decided to tackle the challenge in a creative way and did not fail to bring the art ”closer to the people”.
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by Michalina | Art
photos: Aja Jacques.
While the pandemic and the lockdown have been pretty devastating for artists and creative professionals economically, they certainly have not been lacking in being an inspiration. In the last weeks, we received quite wonderful submissions from photographers and artists all dealing with the different aspects of the pandemic and how they influence our life, among them the Stay At Home series, the corona comics, and a curious techno song. The latest project we want to introduce you to today is dealing specifically with one of the measures to contain the spread of the virus: social distancing.
Aja Jacques is one of the artists from our Uncensored Berlin exhibition that we hosted back in 2018 and that dealt with censorship of artists through social media platforms. Aja was not only one of our muses acting as a model for several of our photographers, but she also exhibited her own photos. Her new project “At A Distance” is a series of analog nude self-portraits she took with several fellow Berliners in prominent public places – at a safe distance of two meters. We talked with her about the series and about how the quarantine has been for her so far.
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by Frank | Art, Pandemic, People, Photos
photos: Lilika Strezoska.
History has proven to us time and time again that necessity truly is the mother of invention. In 2020 this saying strikes again, as these spectacularly unusual times have driven people to find solutions for the limitations that the wake of the pandemic has brought upon our daily lives. As the routines of our private and work life have been rethought, we want to shed light on ways especially creative people have found, to still exercise their craft. The no contact rule has sparked ideas, that allow our creative Berliners to pursue their passions even in times of crisis.
One fantastic example is Lilika Strezoska. The talented photographer has moved to Berlin one and a half years ago to study Communication Design at the University of Applied Sciences – way before the pandemic changed our lives. Given that we are all to stay home and facetime, rather than meet in person, she came up with a simple solution to still take pictures of what she loves most in photography: people.
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by Franziska | Art, People
photo: SCANROULETTE @herpeslabial_
The lockdown has really put a damper on the sexual expression of Berliners in a major way. Unless you are lucky to live with your partner or with a flatmate with benefits your sex life most likely had to take a back seat in the last weeks. No Tinder or Grindr dates, no hooking up in bars, no kinky adventures in Berlin’s nightclubs. You really have to get creative to get your sexual kicks these days or at least seek some inspiration on any sex toy site of choice.
Our friends from Pornceptual were struck really badly by the pandemic. Their parties are on hold until further notice, and the WHOLE festival which they co-organize has been canceled for this year. But like many creative people in the city, the quarantine has also created new ideas and opportunities for them to make the best of the situation. One of those ideas that recently saw the light of day is their new platform Isolation Porn which is an extension to their Pornceptual blog dedicated to artworks and creations that have been produced in response to the lockdown.
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by Frank | Art, Pandemic
photos: Kseniya Apresyan.
This photography series by Kseniya Apresyan showcases one characteristic Berlin is a paragon of – the freedom that for many is almost synonymous with the city’s kinky nightlife. But don’t expect sneaky snapshots from the dancefloor – this project brings the partygoers back into reality, creating intriguing images of their respective lifestyles.
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by Michalina | Photos
photos: Lovis Ostenrik.
These last couple of weeks it became almost a mantra: Stay at home! Angela Merkel said it, viral expert Drosten said it, your mom said it, we said it. It’s in everyone’s ears, and in everyone’s mouths.
But what does “staying at home” mean for everybody? It’s certainly not the same for everyone. If you’re living alone in a dark studio apartment in the backyard it can certainly start to feel claustrophobic at some point. But if you’re lucky to live in a big bright Altbau with balcony (or even better: a garden) together with loved ones, it can also be pretty ok in the end. No matter if it’s a big sacrifice or just a small one, the importance as one of the most significant measures to battle this pandemic cannot be denied.
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by Frank | Pandemic, People, Photos, Stories
