remnants

The peat pits in Buch, on the northern outskirts of Berlin are a small idyllic nature reserve for recreation and walks. Partially fenced off and protected, the landscape appears to be untouched and pristine. Yet this landscape is marked by human intervention, which visibly shape the ecology and hydrology of the meadows: remnants of drainage ditches run through the fields. And where the peat was mined in the GDR, water filled peat pits are left behind.
There is little evidence of why the peat was extracted back then. Among residents living near the peat pits, a story circulates that the peat was traded for foreign currency to West Berlin and used to grow plants for the federal horticultural show in Britz (BUGA,1987). The project “Remnants” follows this story. The result is an artistic research for clues in the meadows, through archives, and via conversations with eyewitnesses. Together, they all tell a small part of Berlin’s urban history.