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.
Let’s start off with the basics. Where are you from and what brought you to Berlin?
Freedom brought me to Berlin. I’m from Israel but I didn’t like it there, so I decided to move to Berlin 16 years ago. I was working for the Sage Club for six months before I came over here—shooting flyers for them in Israel. I thought this was my opening to find a way to move to Berlin. Then they invited me over here to be the house photographer for Sage Club. I left everything I had in Israel as a fashion photographer to come to Berlin and work in the clubs.
How did you first get involved with KitKat?
I was always hanging around in KitKatClub. My girlfriend was working behind the bar there. It was the only club I would go to—I mean of course Bar 25 and Berghain, at this time Ostgut—but always after work at Sage, I would go to KitKat. When I came to Berlin for the first time for six days to visit, I went to KitKat and thought, “OK, I’m home.” So, when I moved to Berlin, I was there every weekend.
Photos are so taboo in Berlin clubs, they even put stickers over our phones. How did you gain the privilege to be the photographer for one of the most private and explicit clubs in Berlin?
Well, it’s a long story. Officially, there is no photographer in KitKat, I was hanging around in there for over a decade and trying to take photos. I asked the owners for years, but they always refused. I totally understand the no photography policy, especially back in the day. No one had Instagram, no one was taking photos; we didn’t feel like we needed it. But I think with the progress of the last few years, KitKat has become much more open to the public, especially since it moved to Mitte and wasn’t super far off in Tempelhof.
“When I came to Berlin for the first time for six days to visit, I went to KitKat and thought, ok, I’m home.”
My work with them started because of Gegen, they asked me to photograph their events and afterward I went to the owners of KitKat and showed them the photos and they liked them. We established some ground rules about what I can shoot. Of course, I don’t have the freedom to do whatever I want; I have to get consent from people and the others in the background have to be deleted. I don’t know if anyone notices but in lots of my pictures there are bodies without heads in the background. Anything that can be used to identify a person, a tattoo or something like that, it all has to be retouched. This is the case in KitKat, but if I work for Symbiotikka or Gegen, they announce that there will be a photographer, and everyone is aware so it’s much easier. But of course, I always ask people first, I would never take a photo without consent. But still, I’m allowed to take photos of the whole club at these events. It took me a long time to convince the owners of KitKat, but we eventually came to an agreement. That was around four and a half years ago.
How do you balance the explicit nature of what goes on in KitKat with such a public art form such as photography?
Like I said, I always ask people for permission. But I still try to show KitKat from my point of view; to capture the more open-minded and interesting people.
What is KitKat in your point of view? What is the atmosphere you’re trying to capture?
Well, first of all, the freedom to do whatever the fuck you want. I mean, this is why people go to KitKat. I think KitKat has changed over the years, even people that hang out in the most mainstream clubs in the world come to KitKat as tourists. They come to Berlin specifically to come to KitKat, they buy the right clothes to get in and put all this effort in specially to attend the events. I think this it’s important for me not to shoot people that just went to H&M and bought a bodysuit. I like to shoot people who stand out, people who are free.
How has the club and the scene evolved in the last decade?
I remember when I first came to Berlin, I was working in mainstream clubs and I used to party in KitKat and invite my friends from those other clubs and they told me, “are you insane? KitKat is a BDSM club, there are crazy people in there.” But I think today KitKat has become—I wouldn’t say mainstream—but it’s more accessible. First of all, because it moved to Mitte. Second, because of Instagram, people can look online and see what’s going on in the club. But this development is just part of the history of Berlin. I never call myself an artist, I’m just documenting. I catch moments, I capture time.
“I have to give back to the club that is my home.”
How has the pandemic changed your line of work?
Well, I think it affects me like everyone else: no jobs. But I think it’s especially important to support the club right now; there’s the Etsy page for KitKat where people can buy my pictures. I have to give back to the club that is my home. I also made a book called Voyeur.Berlin.Kinky during this time…
Tell me about the book!
The idea for Voyeur.Berlin.Kinky was to start shooting people in their houses because all the clubs were closed. I found it a bit exhausting, going all over Berlin and talking to everyone but then Chris (the promoter for Symbiotikka) came to me and wanted to collaborate to make the book. I told him if he organized the people, I would shoot it. In two weeks, Chris had 250 people who wanted to be shot in a kinky way for the book. We drove about 2,500 km around Berlin during corona shooting people in their houses. It was a really amazing experience for me because in KitKatClub I come to take photos and leave, I don’t talk to the people I photograph or spend any time with them. But if someone lets you inside their house, you really get to know them because it’s their home; it was a very intimate project. I’m really proud of the book and I don’t think anyone has ever done something like this in Berlin. It took us about six weeks to shoot; while everyone was in lockdown, I was quite busy. I didn’t even have time to finish all my Netflix series or get depressed like everyone else.
So how and when can we get our hands on a copy of Voyeur.Berlin.Kinky?
We wanted to release it at the end of October. We were going to print it in Poland but they’re Catholic and didn’t let us so it’s looking more like mid-November now. You can still preorder or support Voyeur.Berlin.Kinky for a few more days here.
