An exhibition of photography by Wirral-based photographer Colin McPherson that documents the dramatic changes which have taken place in Berlin since the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989.
Entitled Berlin: After the Wall, the work focuses on how the the city has been transformed in the three decades since the Cold War came to an end.
Photographs from the period after the Wall came down will be displayed alongside images made in recent years to illustrate how life has changed in this once-divided city, which lies at the heart of Europe and European history.
As the Berlin Wall crumbled under the weight of people power in 1989, a new era began for Germany. Reunification of the two republics was most evident in Berlin, where the 155 kilometre barrier had separated families, friends and neighbours for 28 long years.
After the euphoria came reality. The course of the Wall left an ugly scar across urban and rural landscapes. As the years passed, development, regeneration and gentrification began to rub out the traces of what was once present and visible.
Photographer Colin McPherson’s family links have taken him back to Berlin repeatedly over the last three decades. In that time, he tasked himself with documenting the physical changes which have slowly but inexorably brought East and West Berlin together.
Now, to coincide with the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Wall, he presents images of what came after 1989 and what the city looks like today. Berlin: After the Wall is a visual exploration of a changing environment and also a tribute to the power of belonging and memory.
The exhibition coincides with the launch of a publication featuring photographs from the early part of the series by Southport-based publisher Cafe Royal Books entitled Berlin: After the Wall 1992-94.