CD INFO

A CD-ROM exploration of the entire death strip within the Berlin Wall

The Perspective of No-Man´s-Land
Border fortifications were still controlled (enforced) in February 1990, when Franz John took his video camera on his first bicycle ventures into the so called "Deathstrip" to get in touch with the untouchable.
He was not as much interested in a view from West to East or East to West, but more so in what he calls "the interzone" - the forbidden area between the two walls. Almost accidently this "material" has became what is likely the most comprehensive documentation of the dismantling of the Berlin Wall.

The Perspective of Interzone
The CD-ROM "interzone" invites the observer into a complex virtual trip through time over 180kms of "Todesstreifen" and border fortifications which existed in and around Berlin for more than 30 years. It combines rather playful historical images and videobased materials with the artistic dreamworlds of the likes of Russian filmmaker Tarkowskij and American writer William S. Burroughs. Black holes, floating "zeros" and randomly controlled animations beam the user into unexpected realities, thus creating a bizarre cosmic vacuum and energy field.

Press Review
A race with the rapid dismantling of the Berlin Wall
Sometimes history is faster than a bicycle. The artist Franz John can confirm this after daily mounting his bicycle in order to film the fall of the Wall. It was a race against time.
Berliner Zeitung

The Wall was torn down so rapidly that even photography and film were put to the test. Franz John was the only one to capture the entire length of the wall on video.
Die Tageszeitung






cd-rom interface design: miley
webdesign: franz john & miley