A new elaborate and inventive public art / scavenger hunt installation in Berlin brings you back inside the combined imaginations of Various & Gould, where you must trust them as they lead you along a colorfully quirky and storied path to find their next installment to continue the story. If art is truly a projection of your internal dialogue, Various & Gould must never sleep, or rather, they possible live in a dream-like state.

Various & Gould: Public Tale in collaboration with Polina Soloveichik. Berlin, 2015. (photo © Various & Gould)

To follow this installation you merely need to stumble upon it on the street and follow the map with directions to the next location. Along the way you are given excerpts from a friendly and riddling tale written to accompany the illustrated collage scenes, which in themselves are each an installation. It helps if you have a sense of adventure, an inquisitive mind, and an afternoon to stroll. It probably also helps if you read and comprehend German, although V&G have thoughtfully translated this story by artist Polina Soloveichik into English.

Gould tells us that it was quite an undertaking to conceive of and create this #PublicTale in studio, and then they had to stick it all up. “It took us seven hours and loads of glue. We were totally exhausted, but happy, when we finished.” They have already been contacted by people who have completed the full hunt, and “So far the pieces and text posters are intact,” he says.

Various & Gould: Public Tale in collaboration with Polina Soloveichik. Berlin, 2015. (photo © Various & Gould)

The outdoor exhibition is part of a project that V&G completed for BackJumps, a Berlin-based graffiti zine-turned-arts movement that is celebrating 21 years. As part of their new show BackJumps is hosting international and local artists and presenting a series of events this spring/summer that include workshops, lectures, and guided walks, among other activities. Various & Gould had conceived of this project as a public art component of the show and even though they had chosen their ideal locations for the collage illustrations……they confess that they had not actually secured permissions.

“We had chosen the specific spots beforehand and when we went wheat-pasting during day it happened; we encountered people at the locations!” says Various, explaining that they suddenly had doubts about being able to finish. Luckily, they were charming enough to persuade the owners to let them put up their corresponding chapter.

“Three times we had to ask spontaneously to see if it was okay to paste on the respective house/wall/gate, and – to our total surprise – all three times we were given the permission!!” It was a happy ending. Also, says Gould, it was an unusual experience for the duo, “Asking for permission is rather new to us.”

Various & Gould: Public Tale in collaboration with Polina Soloveichik. Berlin, 2015. (photo © Various & Gould)

One more thing as a point of clarification, and hopefully without spoiling the story or confusing you, dear reader: an actual halted construction project is one of the sites of the art installation and its status as an unfinished project runs parallel to the project in the storyline. Also, the joke told within the story is never revealed, but we have learned that it is actually sprayed upon the wall of that same stalled project. It doesn’t really sound like a “joke” in English; it reads more as a pithy proverb. The text is high upon the side of a building is right next to the famous squat “Köpi”. You can see it also here and here.

Various and Gould have translated it for us.

„Die Grenze verläuft nicht zwischen den Völkern sondern zwischen oben und unten“

or “The border doesn’t run between the nations but between the top and the bottom (or the rich and the poor).

Enjoy this extensive documentation of #PublicTale and check out the hashtag on Instagram.

Various & Gould: Public Tale in collaboration with Polina Soloveichik. Berlin, 2015. (photo © Various & Gould)

Various & Gould: Public Tale in collaboration with Polina Soloveichik. Berlin, 2015. (photo © Various & Gould)

Various & Gould: Public Tale in collaboration with Polina Soloveichik. Berlin, 2015. (photo © Various & Gould)

Various & Gould: Public Tale in collaboration with Polina Soloveichik. Berlin, 2015. (photo © Various & Gould)

Various & Gould: Public Tale in collaboration with Polina Soloveichik. Berlin, 2015. (photo © Various & Gould)

Various & Gould: Public Tale in collaboration with Polina Soloveichik. Berlin, 2015. (photo © Various & Gould)

Various & Gould: Public Tale in collaboration with Polina Soloveichik. Berlin, 2015. (photo © Various & Gould)

Various & Gould: Public Tale in collaboration with Polina Soloveichik. Berlin, 2015. (photo © Boris Niehaus)

Various & Gould: Public Tale in collaboration with Polina Soloveichik. Berlin, 2015. (photo © Various & Gould)

Various & Gould: Public Tale in collaboration with Polina Soloveichik. Berlin, 2015. (photo © Various & Gould)

Various & Gould: Public Tale in collaboration with Polina Soloveichik. Berlin, 2015. (photo © Boris Niehaus)

Various & Gould: Public Tale in collaboration with Polina Soloveichik. Berlin, 2015. (photo © Various & Gould)

Various & Gould: Public Tale in collaboration with Polina Soloveichik. Berlin, 2015. (photo © Boris Niehaus)

Various & Gould: Public Tale in collaboration with Polina Soloveichik. Berlin, 2015. (photo © Various & Gould)

Various & Gould: Public Tale in collaboration with Polina Soloveichik. Berlin, 2015. (photo © Boris Niehaus)

Various & Gould: Public Tale in collaboration with Polina Soloveichik. Berlin, 2015. (photo © Various & Gould)

Various & Gould: Public Tale in collaboration with Polina Soloveichik. Berlin, 2015. (photo © Various & Gould)

Various & Gould: Public Tale in collaboration with Polina Soloveichik. Berlin, 2015. (photo © Boris Niehaus)

Various & Gould: Public Tale in collaboration with Polina Soloveichik. Berlin, 2015. (photo © Various & Gould)

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