Avner Sher
East West Berlin no 3, 2019
Scratching, etching and engraving on cork and wood
60 x 60 inches
Avner Sher manipulates, fuses and combines maps of Jerusalem with maps of Berlin. This blending creates new imaginary maps that require deep study into the similarities between both cities, such...
Avner Sher manipulates, fuses and combines maps of Jerusalem with maps of Berlin. This blending creates new imaginary maps that require deep study into the similarities between both cities, such as the walls which partition East and West. The engravings and burns in the maps emphasize shadows of structures - a symbol of impermanence, historical controversy and constant change. The choice of Berlin is not accidental. Berlin is the city where the Nazi regime rose and brought a Holocaust - mass murder of millions of Jews as well as millions of others, including Gypsies, intellectually disabled, dissidents and homosexuals. The Wall and the Brandenburg Gate are illustrated to hark back its original symbol of peace and unity which turned into an emblem of horror, when the Nazis turned the Gate into a celebratory monument to mark Hitler’s seizure of power. Similarly, the Wall of the Old City in Jerusalem which separates East and West instigated division which led to many controversies, struggles, bloodshed, and victorie