Barbara Staulus

Volkspark
Two park benches next to a lake.
A tree with number plate in Volkspark Friedrichshain, Berlin, Germany.
A pair of ducks in water in Volkspark Friedrichshain, Berlin Germany
The ruins of a collapsed bunker with graffiti on it.
A tree with a small number plate on it.
Closed white patio umbrellas.
White patio lights hung from trees.
The sun hitting a patch of pink flowers
A curved path ends at a red-roofed structure in a park.

This series of photographs was shot in October 2016 at the Volkspark Friederickshain in Berlin. The park is the oldest public park in Berlin, opened in 1848, and one of the largest in the city. It contains two large hills that were formed from the rubble of buildings destroyed in Berlin during the Second World War.

Volkspark was inspired by the interesting cultural markers I noticed while spending time there: trees numbered for monitoring, the many sculptures, monuments, fountains, and the remnants of a bunker built by the Nazis. The park is filled with trees, and has quiet, wild areas that make you feel like you are outside of the city. In the end though, this series became more about the details that hint at the particular character of this space, and the signs that signal the end of summer.

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