badkettle in berlin

Das poncho rebellion.


In Alexanderplatz we came across a billboard advertising a jacket with the slogan ‘ Das ist keine jacke. Das ist rebellion’ translating into ‘this is not a jacket. This is rebellion.’ We found this hilarious, in the home of punk culture they can pretend to sell rebellion for forty Euros. So we launched our own rebellion, the poncho rebellion.

The ponchos looked out of place and subverted the everyday, the practical purposes were nullified as we were indoors and it was a beautiful day. 

This performance took place on the U2 line from Pankow to Potsdamer Platz and served as a continuation of our previous work at Truro Train station, which was concerned, with Marc Augé non-place. 

We entered the train individually at different stations, when onboard the train we wouldn’t acknowledge the other ponchos. We would ride for a few stops then leave one after another ,then wait for another train and this process was repeated until we reached the final destination of Potsdamer Platz where we stood in front of a billboard of ‘a soon to be’ shopping complex with the statement ‘shopping is coming home’. We felt this was ironic because they were in the process of bulsdozing this ‘home’ to create a money making shopping mall!

Our encounters included passengers who obeyed the unspoken rule of ‘no eye contact’ and others who would relish in the spectacle and stare at us until their next stop, the climatic point of the performance was when we were joined by two working musicians and we ‘bopped’ to ‘hit the road jack’ and the whole carriage was uplifted.

Unfortunately we didn’t manage to capture the response on film but we felt that it was positive, but this in itself is an ongoing challenge for us.

How do we approach a response appropriately, how much do we tell them why we are doing this. Are we talking from a performer/character/student or artist point of view

below is a clip from the experience:

http://youtu.be/D-E8H1h-5bk

Für die Vogel
Potsdamer Platz was flattened in the war and became desolate whilst the wall was up, during the last ten years Potsdamer Platz has developed into the home of futuristic high-rises. 
The architecture is generic and does not fit in with the landscape of Berlin. Potsdamer Platz is home of The Sony Centre, a domed complex which is geared towards consuming, shopping and eating in overpriced restaurants. 


The Sony centre house rules. 
1. Offering of goods, street painting, playing of music, or other appearances or performance of any type are not allowed without the written authorization of the Centre Management.
7. The feeding of pigeons is prohibited.


Enter Badkettle. 
We decided we wanted to perform a subtle rebellion. 
Dressed as waiters we decided to feed the birds from silver platters. The performance started just outside the Sony Centre, we adorned ourselves with red lipstick, we quickly felt moved on as our presence was unwanted by a stern looking security guard. We proceeded to walk around the Centre before walking through the middle towards the Tiergarten, where delivered the seeds to the birds.

Letters for you. Für sie.  40 letters 40 multicloured envelopes 40 sweets 3 questions   Three prong route. Posted/placed around berlin in overlooked spaces, Left for 24 hours Waiting a response…..   Questions. 1. Wie Viel Uhr? What Time Is It? 2. Wo Ghest Du Hin? Where are you going? 3.  Wo Ist Dein Za Haus? Where is home?   Responses.   1 out of 40 responded. 19 were missing. 7 were left untouched. 4 were without sweets. 4 pegs. 1 pissed on. 1 skipped on. 1 crumpled. 1 walked to the other side of the road.   Next Delivery and adaptation to take place in a central location in the “peoples park”, Prenzlauerberg.

Letters for you. Für sie.

 40 letters

40 multicloured envelopes

40 sweets

3 questions

 

Three prong route.

Posted/placed around berlin in overlooked spaces,

Left for 24 hours Waiting a response…..

 

Questions.

1. Wie Viel Uhr? What Time Is It?

2. Wo Ghest Du Hin? Where are you going?

3.  Wo Ist Dein Za Haus? Where is home?

 

Responses.

 

1 out of 40 responded.

19 were missing.

7 were left untouched.

4 were without sweets.

4 pegs.

1 pissed on.

1 skipped on.

1 crumpled.

1 walked to the other side of the road.

 

Next Delivery and adaptation to take place in a central location in the “peoples park”, Prenzlauerberg.

badkettle hijack the festival of lights.

Hijacking of the Festival of Lights.
Every year Berlin sees its main tourist attractions illuminated with lights and projections. 
We decided to infiltrate the festival and created a performative intervention by covering different parts of our body in battery powered LED’s. Standing still in front of the Brandenburg Gate, cameras were turned from the city’s top tourist attraction to us, we allowed ourselves to become spectacles. We then broke the stillness and walked from the gate towards Potsdamer Platz, through walking the lights highlighted the way the body moves, we wanted to draw attention from the static architecture towards the mobility of the body. 
Tour buses stopped at the site, restaurant conversations were interrupted and passersby erupted in laughter.

This week we will be exploring Potsdamer Platz. We are interested in this space because of its generic form, the modern architecture enabling behaviour that leans towards to consumerism and leaves little room for anything else. We are going to explore the space by walking slowly, three prong walking. By finding and inhabiting the unused space, we will begin observing reactions and interactions from passers-by. We found a small crevice in-between two restaurants and a public walkway, we inhabited the space by simply standing and watching reactions, a lot of people double took whilst others didn’t notice. We then started queuing with our backs turned away it provoked public interest and caused curiosity, before long the security guard came, after a call was made reporting suspicious behaviour. He said, “What are you doing?” we replied, “just admiring the architecture”. He walked away puzzled but intrigued. The exploration continues.

This week we will be exploring Potsdamer Platz. We are interested in this space because of its generic form, the modern architecture enabling behaviour that leans towards to consumerism and leaves little room for anything else.

We are going to explore the space by walking slowly, three prong walking. By finding and inhabiting the unused space, we will begin observing reactions and interactions from passers-by.

We found a small crevice in-between two restaurants and a public walkway, we inhabited the space by simply standing and watching reactions, a lot of people double took whilst others didn’t notice. We then started queuing with our backs turned away it provoked public interest and caused curiosity, before long the security guard came, after a call was made reporting suspicious behaviour. He said, “What are you doing?” we replied, “just admiring the architecture”. He walked away puzzled but intrigued.

The exploration continues.

We decided to look beyond the guidebook. Spree World is hidden from the public eye, it took us over an hour to find the abandoned amusement park, the location is unmapped and hidden within a wood, which makes it all the more intriguing. The old abandoned amusement park built in East Berlin closed in 2001, similar to Templehof the space still allows for visitors. For two Euros the original train ride takes you on a tour of the overgrown park. The trees have reclaimed the space and the rides were covered in vines, which made the space haunting but beautifully preserved. We felt the space was owned and steeped in interest and because there were so many distractions our work wouldn’t fit in with the unique identity of the park.

We decided to look beyond the guidebook. Spree World is hidden from the public eye, it took us over an hour to find the abandoned amusement park, the location is unmapped and hidden within a wood, which makes it all the more intriguing. The old abandoned amusement park built in East Berlin closed in 2001, similar to Templehof the space still allows for visitors. For two Euros the original train ride takes you on a tour of the overgrown park. The trees have reclaimed the space and the rides were covered in vines, which made the space haunting but beautifully preserved. We felt the space was owned and steeped in interest and because there were so many distractions our work wouldn’t fit in with the unique identity of the park.

“Templehof served as the gateway to the world for hundreds of thousands of citizens. For Martin Luther King, Zara Leander, the Beatles and many other stars, celebrities and politician, the airport was an international meeting place that provided the backdrop for countless news reports.

 On the 31st October 2008 air traffic operations at Templehof were shut down for good. After nearly 100 years, visitors can now enjoy the wide-open spaces of Templehof Park for leisure activities.” (Tourist Information billboard)

Templehof was a gateway for many since 1927. The airport houses a variety of different businesses now, but the majority of the runway is open for public use. Kite flying is prime in the windy and wide location, runners, cyclist and families are able to enjoy the space.

We were expecting to see an abandoned airport, desolate and decaying, instead we found a hive of activity. The airport lies in between time and has a haunting existence, it is no longer an airport and three years after closing it still owns that identity. Cracks in the pavement allow flowers to breathe life into the runway of tarmac. Plans are to turn the runway into a garden full of life.

Three prong walk. We would each choose a direction on the map starting from Schonhauser Allee, and walk alone in that direction for an hour, we would then return to the starting point and discuss and compare experiences with pictures and lists. Jessica: I began my walk and it lead me through a small park passing lots of parents and their prams on the way. I wasn’t expecting much at Prenzlauer Berg is well known for being a family neighbourhood, I continued to walk and found my pathway was obstructed which lead me on to find BoseBrucke bridge, famous for the evening of 9th November 1989 where Berliners were able to pass freely from East to West. The location was unassuming and tucked away in the corner of the map, steeped in history and emotion the bridge didn’t utter tourist anywhere, apart from a few billboards of information. There is such delight when walking and finding the unexpected.  On the 9th of November every year Berliners gather on the bridge to remember the events of 1989. Sophie: Mission aborted. Phone. No speech. Accordion. Shonetag. 50c. iPhone und. Prams. Bikes. Sale. Mango. Punk. Chinese medicine. Church. Hairdryers. Primary chairs. Angebot. Gethseman Strasse. no socks no panties. Ice cream. Shubtig marron. Boutique B. Becker. Ice cream. Held leaf. Applaus. Headless mannequin. Matching Pace. Headless. Ancient poodle. Picked sunflower. Dead sunflower. Growing. 72. Repro. Swing. Blankets. 2CV. Superlife kiosk. Ampelman. Kart. Amazon. The Future Starts Now. Papa. Ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba. Ristaurante. Bird. Dog poo. Second back. Houdini. Stop.  Hannah: Kopenhagner strasse,  Stumbling over flower pots disguising scaffolding and construction work pending….. unique graffiti pieced together via old music posters and clothing adverts discarded music (vinyls) placed on the pavements and window sills. danke/thank you, i love a bit of sam cooke!! Antique shops turned local cafes. Found Proof ‘The Urban knitters’ even found joy in this street!

Three prong walk.

We would each choose a direction on the map starting from Schonhauser Allee, and walk alone in that direction for an hour, we would then return to the starting point and discuss and compare experiences with pictures and lists.

Jessica:

I began my walk and it lead me through a small park passing lots of parents and their prams on the way. I wasn’t expecting much at Prenzlauer Berg is well known for being a family neighbourhood, I continued to walk and found my pathway was obstructed which lead me on to find BoseBrucke bridge, famous for the evening of 9th November 1989 where Berliners were able to pass freely from East to West. The location was unassuming and tucked away in the corner of the map, steeped in history and emotion the bridge didn’t utter tourist anywhere, apart from a few billboards of information. There is such delight when walking and finding the unexpected.

 On the 9th of November every year Berliners gather on the bridge to remember the events of 1989.

Sophie:

Mission aborted. Phone. No speech. Accordion. Shonetag. 50c. iPhone und. Prams. Bikes. Sale. Mango. Punk. Chinese medicine. Church. Hairdryers. Primary chairs. Angebot. Gethseman Strasse. no socks no panties. Ice cream. Shubtig marron. Boutique B. Becker. Ice cream. Held leaf. Applaus. Headless mannequin. Matching Pace. Headless. Ancient poodle. Picked sunflower. Dead sunflower. Growing. 72. Repro. Swing. Blankets. 2CV. Superlife kiosk. Ampelman. Kart. Amazon. The Future Starts Now. Papa. Ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba. Ristaurante. Bird. Dog poo. Second back. Houdini. Stop. 

Hannah:

Kopenhagner strasse, 

Stumbling over flower pots disguising scaffolding and construction work pending…..

unique graffiti pieced together via old music posters and clothing adverts

discarded music (vinyls) placed on the pavements and window sills. danke/thank you, i love a bit of sam cooke!!

Antique shops turned local cafes.

Found Proof ‘The Urban knitters’ even found joy in this street!

The weather has turned blue. It has started raining non-stop.Rainy days are key for visiting such art galleries as Hamburger Bhanhof, and researching the art that is around us.Hamburger Bhanhof is contemporary art gallery showing artists such as Long, Abramovic, Warhol and Twombly, took our attention away from CEP and allowed to get inspired via a different medium. We felt it was extremely important to have ‘days off’ during the CEP as the mind can relax and it was refreshing to see other artists work.

The weather has turned blue. It has started raining non-stop.
Rainy days are key for visiting such art galleries as Hamburger Bhanhof, and researching the art that is around us.
Hamburger Bhanhof is contemporary art gallery showing artists such as Long, Abramovic, Warhol and Twombly, took our attention away from CEP and allowed to get inspired via a different medium. 
We felt it was extremely important to have ‘days off’ during the CEP as the mind can relax and it was refreshing to see other artists work.