Burning Down the House,
Norman Behrendt

Burning Down the House,
Norman Behrendt

“To be a writer is a big secret. It’s the biggest secret that I keep from my parents. You don’t tell many people, you only tell people who you can trust. There’s a big impulse to maintain secrecy.”
— Duko.

 

Through a series of portraits and interviews, Norman Behrendt introduces us to the anonymous authors of Berlin’s public space and gives a human face to the often-discussed subject of the illegal “writing on the wall”. Instead of accompanying and photographing the graffiti writers on their nocturnal adventures even forgoing the depiction of the graffiti itself, Behrendt decided on a quieter alternative to give the writers freedom to choose where and how they were photographed. The resulting photographs and interviews to reflect on the tense relationship between visibility and anonymity, recognition and ownership.