Earlier this month, street artists Thierry Noir and Stik unveiled their sections of the Berlin Wall to mark thirty years since its fall. I went to the Imperial War Museum in south London to see the finished pieces, which have simply been named "WALL". The artwork is currently on display there until December 1. When it was unveiled at the beginning of this month, the artists greeted their fans, completed an interview, and gave out autographs.
What was the Berlin Wall? The Berlin Wall is a symbol of the Cold War, which many viewers of the artwork did not get to live through. The wall was built in 1961 as a division between east and west Germany, which had suffered greatly after the country was defeated in World War II. East Germany was controlled by the Soviet Union, and the wall was constructed to prevent the people from escaping to west Germany. The wall was guarded so that people could not cross it; people were shot and killed if they attempted to. The wall tore friends and families apart.
Thierry Noir actually started his career as an artist by painting grafitti on the wall when it was in place; he was the first to paint on the wall in the 1980s. He was a French national living in Berlin at that time. Stik, a London-based artist, started to paint his stick figure characters around 2008-2009 when he was homeless. This is the second time that they have collaborated together. The duo painted together for the first time on the Village Underground Wall in Shoreditch, east London in 2013, and a picture of the artwork is located in the post Street Art: Thierry Noir.
Although the Berlin Wall is a symbol of separation, the artwork created by STIK and Thierry Noir symbolises connection between people, such as the two figures by the artists that seem to interact.
Another section of the Berlin Wall is a permanent artwork in front of the Imperial War Museum. When the wall fell on Novembr 9, 1989, it signalled the end of the Cold War and reunification of Germany. Of course, Europe is still evolving today, and walls are a relevant subject matter today just as they were thirty years ago.
For more posts about STIK, see:
Stik's "Past, Present & Future"
Bristol Upfest 2015
South Bank Street Art Festival 2013
Street Art: Stik
Baroque the Streets: Dulwich Street Art
Street Art: Thierry Noir
More posts by Thierry Noir:
Thierry Noir Returns to London for Academy Of Art Summer Show at Protein Studios
Thierry Noir Paints New Murals in London
Thierry Noir and Street Art at Shoreditch Food Village
Street Art in Soho by Paul 'Don' Smith, Broken Fingaz, Amara por Dios, Thierry Noir, and others
Thierry Noir's Shop Front on Shoreditch High Street
Thierry Noir's New Murals on Rivington Street
Thierry Noir, RUN, and John Dolan Murals at the Museum of London
Street Art: Thierry Noir
Leave a comment