The Bridge
A Corona Diary
No travelling. Staying put in the neighbourhood and crossing the bridge over the train tracks every day. April 2020 – May 2021.
It started with an atmosphere of solidarity, excitement, the possibility to bring about positive change. The bridge functions as the ersatz seating space of the cafés around – we buy our takeaway coffee and lean against the railings, sipping our drinks in all weather. Benching Berlin installed two seats on the bridge. But the bench disappears regularly. Then winter came, a long winter. A street art activist planted discarded Xmas trees on the piles of sand down by the disused goods rail station. Nothing much remains of the posters calling for change. But spring is finally, slowly, arriving on Herta bridge in Neukölln, by mid-May.