MATERIAL

Over the past twenty years Thomas Heise has captured German life in all its facets. From a wealth of footage shot before, during and after the collapse of the GDR he has assembled an impressive montage of minutiae and momentous events, outtakes from his films and pieces of actuality. Children’s laughter reverberates through ruined buildings. A riot erupts in Kreuzberg. In 1989 countless people gather to demonstrate in Berlin’s Alexander Platz. Squats are evicted in Mainzer Strasse. The Palast der Republik is demolished. Scenes unfold in the People’s Parliament and Brandenberg prison. On stage Fritz Marquardt presents his production of Heiner Müller’s 'Germania Death in Berlin'. These images, stories, observations and impressions are fragments of history, the legacy of Germany’s recent past. "The material remains incomplete. It consists of what I held on to, what remained important to me. It is my picture." (Thomas Heise)

"Those residual images have besieged my head, constantly reassembling themselves into new shapes that are further and further removed from their original meaning and function. They remain in motion. They become history." Thomas Heise