OUT/SIDE/IN – Taking a seat

This photographic project explores Berlin as a political space of belonging, where identity is negotiated not solely through origin, but through social, cultural and emotional attributions. In a temporary photo studio, visitors are invited to take a seat on a sofa – a place of arrival and positioning. The seating arrangement marks a symbolic boundary: the left-hand side represents those who see themselves as Berliners, the right-hand side those who see themselves as non-Berliners.

This spatial configuration points to Berlin as a city of constant negotiation: who belongs, who is excluded – and who decides? The boundary is deliberately kept simple and highlights that political belonging is often linked to seemingly trivial gestures and self-attributions. After the portrait, participants note down their place of birth and the length of their stay in Berlin. This information serves not as proof, but as a contrast to their chosen self-positioning.

The project highlights Berlin as a place where the ‘outside’ is constantly inscribed within the ‘inside’. Belonging appears as a fluid process that takes shape between migration, everyday life and self-image. The boundary is not understood as a separation, but as a productive space of possibility in which urban identity is continually reimagined.