William M. Griffin

Description

A freight wagon that has come to a halt in the Möllerhalle serves as a reminder of the origins of urban art and, at the same time, embodies the guiding principle of the Urban Art Biennale. Alongside the monumental train, a small exhibition on photography within graffiti culture is on display: With One Eye Open / Industrial Landscapes by Jasper van Es explores how railways and (abandoned) industrial areas inspire artists and photographers to capture the raw beauty of these environments. The steel and iron industry continues to shape Völklingen and the region to this day. (Post-)industrial railway areas and interstitial spaces hold a particular allure for graffiti writers – places away from the public eye where walls, industrial sites and freight trains offer ideal surfaces for painting. Here, writers can often work undisturbed, and as these places are gradually disappearing over time, photography becomes the only tangible form of documentation. In the rear section of the train, fragments of industrial landscapes can be seen in a slide show by Ralph Roelse.