Wiebke Grösch & Frank Metzger – New Borders

PARCELLA SERIE 2007

A professional security firm is hired to patrol the grounds of Skulpturenpark Berlin_Zentrum. Every day for 4-weeks, from 12:30–1:00 p.m., an officer makes his rounds of a pre-determined route, which traces and connects the former Berlin Wall and border patrol, with more recent boundaries such as property lines and paths created by local inhabitants.
After the physical deconstruction of the Wall, a variety of borders were established by municipal authorities, landowners and realtors. The divisions are marked by temporary fences, intended not only to delineate the properties, but also to discourage trespassing and loitering. Lots without fences show evidence of other use. Pedestrian trails and shortcuts intersect and meander across the landscape. The guard crosses and joins the various paths and fences as he monitors the unregulated activities of the vacant lots. He uses a scanner to register at various checkpoints and logs a daily report. This uneventful routine mimics the former border patrol, but now handled by a private security company, represents order in a post-socialist Berlin.