site-specific installation reversed dunk challenges urban dynamics in berlin

REVERSED DUNK by KIM/ILLI stands in central berlin

KIM/ILLI transdisciplinary collective reveals REVERSED DUNK, a striking public space intervention in the form of a large-scale, site-specific installation. The project, located at Warschauer Brücke in Berlin, ‘boldly confronts the prevailing neoliberal logic of spatial aggregation and separation’. The artwork transforms the landscape into an impossible basketball court. The endeavor serves as a commentary on the challenges that dense urban planning imposes on the flourishing of urban culture.

Positioned between the historically working-class neighborhoods of Friedrichshain and Kreuzberg, the installation’s form, decapitated exponential growth, reminiscent of a fragment of the Berlin Wall, pays homage to the area’s history as a borderland zone and signifies the impact of international capital influx since 1989. The artwork’s proximity to East Side Mall and the Amazon Tower by BIG amplifies reflections on gentrification, as the area increasingly caters to commercial interests in tourism, mass entertainment, and corporate culture.

all images courtesy of © Studio KIM/ILLI

installation provokes contemplation on urban dispossession

The creative duo, comprising Seulbi Kim and Christian Illi, employs the symbolic juxtaposition of a shopping cart as a basketball hoop atop a twenty-meter-high curved ramp provoking contemplation on urban dispossession. Beyond its critical discourse, the piece embodies a humorous dimension, inviting the public to ascribe fresh interpretations to both the installation and its site.

REVERSED DUNK project seeks to be a ‘living container for social sentiments, a vessel for testimonies of gentrification, and a catalyst for the redefinition and transformation of this significant locale’, share the artists. By interrupting the pervasive neoliberal urbanism, the artwork endeavors to restore public space, transforming the site into a vibrant, active area.

the artwork endeavors to restore public space, transforming the site into a vibrant, active area

the installation’s position amplifies reflections on gentrification

a twenty-meter-high curved ramp provokes contemplation on urban dispossession

a shopping cart as a basketball hoop sits atop a twenty-meter-high curved ramp

plan drawing – elevations A and B drawings by © Studio KIM/ILLI

project info:

name: REVERSED DUNK
designer: KIM/ILLI | @kim__illi

location: Berlin, Germany

designboom has received this project from our DIY submissions feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: christina vergopoulou | designboom