Logo Goethe-Institut

United Kingdom

"If only you could be here..." – Love Letters Across the Berlin Wall

Exhibition | with artwork by Tape That

"If only you could be here..." – Love Letters Across the Berlin Wall © Nora Laraki

The Berlin Wall divided East and West Germany for nearly 30 years until its fall in 1989. East and West Germans had only limited opportunities to visit each other, even less for East and West Berliners. Families, Friends and lovers were divided and many people tried to flee.

"If you could only be here..." is an exhibition telling three special love stories, between East and West Germans, that took place in the shadow of the Berlin Wall. Three couples fell in love during the German division. Their stories, of love that defied a time of isolation and separation, were kept alive through letters. Here, in this exhibition you will have the opportunity to see Germany's Cold War history from a new and unexpected perspective. This is the story about devotion without borders, without walls, told in the words of the lovers themselves.

This exhibition is curated and produced by Nora Laraki with artworks by Tape That.
The exhibition is supported by the German Historical Institute of London and the Goethe-Institut in London. This exhibition was produced in partnership with the European Commission.
 
Tape That is a collective of six artists and formed in 2011. Inspired by the possibility to create something new out of an everyday object, they mostly work with adhesive tape as a medium. With roots in the urban art movement, their works range from complex and colorful tape and light installations to minimalist black and white murals. These tape artworks can be found in a variety of places, such as underground nightclubs, abandoned buildings, showrooms and galleries. Tape That is based in Berlin.
 
Nora Laraki is a London curator with roots in Berlin. She is currently finishing up a PhD in History and Philosophy of art at the University of Kent.

If you like this you might also enjoy

Related links