THE BERLIN BURD
Date: 1988
Location: Berlin
Type: sculpture, installation, action
Technique: hand-built
Material: steel
Height: 500 cm
In 1988, George was one of the artists commissioned by the Glasgow District Council to showcase Scotland during Glasgow-Berlin 88, an exciting series of events that paved the way for Glasgow to be celebrated as the European City of Culture in 1990.
When George arrived in Berlin from Gourock in December 1988, he positioned the nearly five-meter-tall steel sculpture named the Berlin Burd to overlook the Berlin Wall, looking toward the East. This straightforward yet powerful gesture highlighted the absurdity of the wall that divided the city.
“The second biggest burd I ever made was the Berlin Burd. This burd was 5 metres high and had to look over the Berlin Wall which was 4 metres high. The politicians in Berlin were cagey about letting me do this and mein Gott, it was not easy to get permission.”
– George Wyllie
For this unique event, George invited school children from both Glasgow and Berlin to design their own bird sculptures to accompany the big Burd.
“Berlin and Glasgow school-kinders cooperated by creating 500 burds of their own – all defying ornithological identification. The burds were lined up behind my big Berlin Burd who told them what it could see on the other side.”- George Wyllie
At that time, the Burd was not permanently installed; it was temporarily exhibited at the Atrium Arts Centre. Today, it stands next to a small segment of the wall, along the path of its former route on Wilhelmsruher Damm.
“A Berliner pataphysician said it was absurd to attempt to explain the confrontation of one absurdity by another. The wall came down some nine months later, and the news arrived in Gourock by ‘phone from Berlin – “Zat you Georg? – a bird is not a stone.” – George Wyllie
From Google Maps - The Berlin Burd still stands by a remaining piece of the Berlin Wall at 49 Wilhelmsruher Damm, Berlin.
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