Condom Vending Machine (East Berlin 1988)

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50x60cm Edition of 10, 35x42cm Edition of 15 - Archival inks on Hahnemühle PhotoRag "Baryta" 315gsm

Condom Vending Machine (East Berlin 1988)

I cross the border to East Berlin at Bahnhof Friedrichstraße. The intimidating behavior by the border officials has left its intended mark on me. After hours of walking the streets I am exhausted and have to find a place to use the facilities.

On Berlin’s grandest boulevard, “Unter den Linden”, I finally spot a café, named after the famous writer and journalist Egon Erwin Kisch. I order coffee and something to eat and find my way to the restrooms. The greenish tint of the flickering neon light can suck the life out of everyone. Before I go back to my table I take one shot of the ancient condom vending machine. Someone has placed a small plant on top of it. Maybe to bring some kind of life into this drab environment.

I leave and walk on towards the Brandenburg Gate, which I have only ever seen from the Western side. In a years time the Berlin Wall will fall and the two Germanys will reunify. As so many other East German institutions the café will not survive the onslaught of the capitalist free market.

The condom machine probably ended up in a dumpster or found a new owner at one of the many pop up flea markets in the early 90s. I am sure the sad little plant didn’t survive the night either.

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Condom Vending Machine (East Berlin 1988)

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