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I have waited long, too long maybe. But then again it could be a way to tell something on the events which survive the details. Strangely – for a photographer – these remembered event many times don’t go accompanied by images.

1 First of all there is my project with Vivian. Not so strange maybe, because this is a real collaboration, an engagement, and, I hope, a friendship who will survive the period of the Rethinkit project.

The whole morning talking about what works in what we did, what does not, and what could make it work. So Vivian suggested new changes to images which did not satisfy entirely. She also proposed to introduce a new item in our work: her collection of small portraits from the first part of the 20th century. Because of the tonality which she thinks is very much like the tonality of my Vandyke Browns. We also did the pre-selection of the work we want to expose together, in June in Forssa.

2 I remember our visits to several galleries in different parts of Berlin, which showed an impressive variety in contemporary art.

The biggest surprise though was an unexpected exhibition of Soviet communist ‘realistic’ art: an impressive collection of very big paintings offered to interested (capitalist) buyers. Personally it remembered me of the pavilion of the Soviet Union in Brussels in 1958.

In the Museum of contemporary art (?), we discussed about four or five gigantic images, which at first view looked like photographs but then resulted being meticulous paintings reproducing photographs (with even it small imperfection like dust on the glass negative).

We saw classics of the 20th century in the Hamburger Bahnhof Museum. We found also galleries with ‘gotic-like’ art, immense spaces with a few small works, we visited the 4 stock building with alternative art…

3 I recall Dagmar explaining Berlin history and architecture in the freezing cold but with great enthousiasm. I also recall her inviting us to a roleplay, convincing us (me, in particular) to participate. As Dagmar did, the other Berliners showed equal hospitality and openness.

4 I learned a lot during our visit to the office of the “Verband Ethnischer Oekonomie” where Gönül and her colleague convinced us of the important role immigrants and theirs descendants play in the Berlin economy.

5 I appreciated the friendship of both Finnish and Berlin participants, and the company of my Flemish friends.

6 I even liked the cold, the snow. But maybe it’s more accurate to say that I liked to see Berlin under this heavy cold and with snow changing every cityscape.

Karel