This material documents the process of "Grenzfährservice I". 
In 2014 we made a research trip at the European outer border between Greece and Turkey, specifically along the River Meric/Evros, as a first step. Afterwards we made a public editing process of the accumulated material at the "Galerie im Turm".

During the journey we did not follow a specific research question. We followed a way that would guide us to people, and people we met guided us further on: hair dressers to villagers, shop owners to journalists, human right commissioners to lawyers, lawyers to smugglers, farmers to people from the "other" side.

During the journey in the border region we accumulated stories, information and anecdotes about everyday life, work, economy, belonging, forced and illegalized migration.

Pictures above:

The Grenzfährservice at Galerie im Turm, Berlin

At the newly built military fence between Greece and Turkey

Stopmotion video during tour through the materials at Galerie im Turm

A cow grazing near the border river

A dusty road with a military border guard

The research vehicle full of materials, found on both sides of the river

A group picture after a meeting with a local journalist

 

 On the border crossing Kapıkule between Bulgaria and Turkey

In a toilet in Alexandroupouli

The second step was to edit the masses of research material in public, as opposed to a closed process in the artist studio. About 1500 photographs were spread on the walls of the Galerie im Turm, dozens of interview notes and hours of video/audio materials were reviewed in the gallery space alongside an audience that could constantly enter, ask and discuss with us topics of the journey. Guided tours completed the public sharing, served by tea and frappe from our improvised Thrakian style cafe. 

 

at Galerie im Turm, Berlin

Plain, dead frogs found on the streets of villages near the border