Portraits from the Berlin Underground

A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Daily Star on March 26, 2018, on page 16.

BEIRUT: “This space,” a spectator remarked of the venue of Sven Marquardt’s exhibition, it’s “the kind of thing you would see in East Berlin.”

The dark, austere warehouse of D Beirut, in Karantina, briefly played host to a selection of large-format black-and-white photos by the esteemed photographer and notorious nightclub bouncer. 

Produced by the Goethe Institute in Beirut, the show, which ran 15-18 March, had two components -- “Rudel,” an exhibition of his large-format photos of East Berlin’s underground scene in the 1980s, and the audiovisual installation "Black Box."

This was Marquardt’s first experience of the Lebanese capital. Asked to describe his first impression of Beirut, he replied, “Wow.”

He shared his experience being stopped at the airport for having more face tattoos than he did in his passport photo, noting how moments like this would provoke in him a brief flashback of his life before the fall of the Berlin wall. 

“Freedom is something you have to learn,” he said, adding that he thought it was strange to be somewhere with a bit more rules than his now completely free Berlin. 

In conversation with The Daily Star at the exhibition opening, Marquardt discussed his profound appreciation for the timeless style of black-and-white photography. Aside from being, in his view, a “very classical, East Berlin practice,” the absence of color allows photographs to convey a dramatic and melancholic effect.

Similarly, his monochromatic pieces present a contrast. The subjects evoke a severe eeriness reminiscent of figures at a wax museum or models posing. 

"Black Box" marries Marquardt’s intimate, intense portraiture with the dark resonance of Marcel Dettmaan’s techno sound. Described as one of the most influential figures of contemporary music, Dettman is the resident DJ of Berghain -- the exclusive Berlin nightclub whose long queue is an obstacle overseen by Marquardt, who handpicks admissions.

Thumping during “Black Box” as a score to Marquardt’s portraits, Dettman’s muffled, haunting beats combined with the striking figures from “Rudel” to simulate awaiting entry to an exclusive Berlin nightspot.

“Club culture has been a part of my life for so many years,” Marquardt said, “and is complementary to my work. 

“Berghain is a source of inspiration” he adds, saying all his nights spent examining people and all the things that make them “special” has made him better at capturing humanity.

Marquardt has been criticised for his stern criteria for vetting who gets into comes to who gets in to Berghain, with some questioning his power as nightlife gatekeeper. Journalist Christoph Reuter took up this point while moderating Marquardt’s artist talk during the show.

Reuter asked the photographer how it felt to have grown up under authoritarian oppression and to now be the one controlling others movements.

In reply, Marquardt said he’s familiar with vulnerability and disappointment. He noted, too, that he’s now lived as many years freely as he has under dictatorship. He described growing up in the East Berlin neighborhood of Prenzlauer Berg, where he discovered lively Punk, New Wave, art, and clubbing scenes. 

Marquardt recalled never feeling the need to oppose the regime outwardly, saying, “We never threw fliers from the rooftops or were very outspoken. We were just there being different.” 

Though his work today does not directly contribute to a political conversation, he later added, viewers can interpret it in politically and take into account that the very existence of himself and his work present in different countries can be seen as a political act.