Looking out from the top level of an East German watch tower, the scene looks very different from the one over 30 years ago when the Berlin wall was still in place. I imagined giant slabs of erect concrete to my right and left, barbed wire from the middle along with various barricades and dangers placed along a long grave track. If this was then, my job would have been to be aware of trespassers and escapees and my duty to arrest or shoot if necessary… even if those escaping were a friend or relative. But the scene is very different now, the tower is surrounded not with walls and gravel but rather a park, busy leisure seekers and rustling traffic, as though this tower was never intended as a pillar of threat, just a park fixture like any tree or shrub. Instead of wearing uniform, I am in my chosen clothing, surrounded not by other soldiers and artillery, but art, books, and sunlight… Welcome to The Watch.

SHOW NOTES:
To discover more about The Watch, exhibitions, opening times and residencies, please go to: https://thewatch-berlin.org/ and visit them on Instagram at @residency.wachturm

To support Secret Place Berlin, please visit our Patron at https://www.patreon.com/secretplaceberlin

Join the community and follow us on Instagram @secretplaceberlin

Music by Rossano Snel @rossanofrombrazil haunting the piano keys of the former GDR. https://www.rossanosnel.com/

Podcast mentions:
Allison Sommers artwork can be found here: https://allisonsommers.com/

Story, Narration, Illustration & Image copyright Lacy Barry 2020, on look-out duty.

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