Graffiti at Mitte, Berlin 

Curator: Looking at this work, “Graffiti at Mitte, Berlin” by Blek le Rat, I’m immediately struck by its raw, ephemeral nature. The layering of imagery and text hints at a story of the city itself. Editor: There’s something haunting about the face in the stencil, a melancholy lurking behind the stark blacks and whites. It feels very punk, very DIY. Curator: Absolutely. And that do-it-yourself aesthetic speaks to the heart of street art’s ethos: challenging traditional art hierarchies and reclaiming public spaces for creative expression and dialogue. This particular piece seems to engage in a form of visual détournement, altering and juxtaposing existing urban elements to create a new narrative. Editor: You can almost feel the artist at work, cutting the stencil, finding the right spot, maybe working quickly under the cover of darkness. The materiality of the piece – the cheap paint, the rough wall surface – is crucial to its meaning. It’s not precious; it’s meant to be seen, absorbed, and potentially painted over. Curator: The image itself also feels significant in terms of historical context; recall that Blek le Rat is one of the earlier street artists, pioneering in 1980s Paris before the practice blossomed into a global movement. A piece like this, transplanted to Berlin, engages with the history of urban spaces and the legacy of resistance and creative disruption. It prompts one to consider identity and urban life and the relationship between legal and extralegal means of art production. Editor: Yes, but I also think the portrait draws upon a longer tradition – think the mug shots and flyers you would see seeking a lost person after a great historic trauma, that it still finds resonance for marginalized folks, who are overlooked daily by broader society and those in charge. It makes you wonder, what the story behind that face could be, or if the artist hoped the placement might help find this person and give them back a name and an identity? Curator: That is a fantastic connection and entirely fits Blek le Rat’s subversive, yet thoughtful spirit, giving even more dimension to the work. Thank you for offering it! Editor: Always a pleasure to investigate new dimensions. It does add some thought for us, about the potential that the piece would be temporary from the outset, not meant to be archived.