Burning Down the House

The photo book, which won first prize at the international Photobook Festival in Kassel, provides a detailed insight into the world of Berlin graffiti writers for the first time. Detached from stereotypes and with the conscious decision not to depict graffiti, Behrendt aims to introduce the anonymous authors of Berlin's public space and to give a face to the often and much discussed topic of illegal writing on the wall. On the one hand, Behrendt meets the actors with an analog medium format camera and a precise concept that leaves the choice of location and type of revelation up to the writers. On the other hand, a Polaroid series was created with portraits specially created by the writers. The tension between visibility and anonymity becomes particularly clear here, given the possible consequences of identification by third parties.

Over a period of 5 years, over 80 portraits and interviews were created, which provide intimate access to the scene's protagonists. The total of 396 pages of photos and texts are presented on four different, selected papers, in German and English. The unique thing: the book is bound into the original seat cover material from the Berlin subway - a logistical and bookbinding challenge. And therefore a real collector's item for every photo book lover!