2006, May, Main Station, Hamburg
A project by Uwe Täubler (addiction therapist), Petra Lange-Berndt, Dietmar Rübel, in context of the conference Urban Contact Zone by Projektgruppe, Haus der Photographie, Deichtorhallen Hamburg, 25. bis 28. Mai 2006
From different perspectives, we would like to approach a particular "Urban Contact Zone" in Hamburg: the former building of the Wüstenrot-Company, next to the Museum for Applied Arts. Recently, the open drug scene in the area behind the main station - that tourists could easily come across - was transferred to this abandoned office building. It is now rented by the registered association Jugendhilfe (Youth Welfare). We would like to focus on the space in front of the entrance: a square measuring 15 x 10 meters, caged at two sides by gratings, creating a caged forecourt. In this ghetto-like construction, addicts are exhibited involuntarily. Additionally, in this public space emerged a legal and humanitarian twilight zone where arbitrary governmental actions and violence take place. In our presentation we aim to combine theory and practice by giving a progress report as well as an analysis of the town planning and artistic interventions that have been reacting to the Hamburg drug scene.