Where Walls Talk: Street Art in Berlin

BERLIN — Broken shards of beer glass bottles crunch beneath Dexter’s feet as the early morning sounds of techno music linger in the Friedrichshain district of Berlin. After passing a few buildings covered with both commissioned street art and graffiti, he stops at a large mural with a bird against a blue abstract background. Dexter, 33, whose last name has been withheld since he could be charged and fined for vandalism, points out where he spray-painted his two-letter tag on a mural made by another artist at RAW-Gelände, a site famous for its graffiti and street art on repurposed industrial buildings. He had placed his stark gray lettering, outlined in black, right below the beak of the bird on the mural, a tag that was very hard to miss by those passing by. He says he did it out of frustration over the commercialization of street art in the city. <img alt="" src="https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:770/1*Q_-km29xvv_tbRVvuZfEZA.jpeg" style="height:934px; width:700px" /> Dexter’s graffiti tag on a mural at RAW-Gelände. Layers of paint on the walls of Berlin reflect the gritty and layered history of the city. “Compared to other cities, Berlin is impoverished, but the people have this expression of freedom,” said the graffiti artist. “I imagine it’s something in the air. Walking around and writing your name on a public space makes you feel a little bit less like a number.” Graffiti, at its core, he says, has no target audience and knows no prerequisites. Anyone can do it. <a href="https://medium.com/berlin-beyond-borders/where-walls-talk-street-art-in-berlin-25ffd3b61386">Click Here</a>