When I first came across a statue of a punk on a roundabout in Kreuzberg I was sure it was one of a kind. But when I posted about it, two of my Twitter followers, Christophe Robin and sprng got in touch to say that there are similar statues outside the Bürgeramt Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf.
The three bronze sculptures on the corner of Hohenzollerndamm and Brienner Strasse are by the same artist – Ludmila Seefried-Matejková.
Schlafende (Sleeping – pictured above) is a punk girl lying with her head resting on her outstretched arm, her jacket pulled up to hide her face – is she upset? Is she hungover? Or is she merely being practical and blocking out the sun so she can get some sleep?
Walkman is a casting of the same statue that I found in Kreuzberg – a punk with a green T-shirt looking proud or possibly defiant.
The third sculpture, closest to the Bürgeramt, is the most puzzling. The title Gedanken eines Mimen (Thoughts of a mime) suggests the man is a mime artist but his bare chest and tight cap made me think of a swimmer when I first saw him.
Berlin is a city of surprises and is littered with public art – who knows, there may even be more punks somewhere else.
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