Sad Fountain

SAD FOUNTAIN Temporary project for the exhibition: Mythos Berlin, 1986

The "Sad Fountain" was conceived as a monumental relic for the historic site of the Anhalter Bahnhof (Anhalter Station). Its central element: an oversized waterwheel (6–8 meters in diameter), fed by blood-red water.

Like a relic, the work draws its meaning from layers of the past: from the noise, the smoke, and the thumping silhouettes of the trains, from the fleeting moments of arrival and departure, from the tears of travelers and the hard labor of the people, from the rhythm of the machines—and ultimately, from the destruction of the station.

The wheel sets in motion a ceaseless cycle in which the blood-red water merges with the flowing water: a symbol of the sweat of labor, the tears of farewell, and the blood of violence indelibly etched into history.

The fountain embodies the wanderlust of a "traveling machine." It generates a constant flow of dreams—departure, return, loss—yet remains stagnant.

Thus, the "Sad Fountain" becomes a monument to travel and, at the same time, a memorial to the wounds of the past.