Foundations

His mural above the SSK (Sozialistische Selbsthilfe Köln) on Liebigstraße in Ehrenfeld is, in the best Deleuzian sense, a dynamic assemblage in which the eternally provisional character of the urban appears. On Liebigstraße, as elsewhere in Ehrenfeld, structural change and gentrification ensure the constant transformation of old industrial sites and workers' quarters into high-priced residential and office parks. Thus, in Swiz's mural, only a few places are structured in a small way, while many other areas appear empty and undefined, as if they were awaiting of imminent reorganization. Whether viewed from a bird's-eye view as a map of the city or interpreted as a glimpse of a street with scaffolding and work equipment (the future of Liebigstrasse?), Swiz's mural captures the fragile balance between past and future, insistence and change, that constitutes the gigantic assemblage called city in every respect. At the same time, the constructivist structure also mirrors the SSK furniture warehouse below, one of those endangered socio-cultural free spaces that must constantly assert themselves in new urban niches. In its formal-geometric austerity, the mural also forms a striking counterpoint to the "wild" Gesamtkunstwerk of countless graffiti, paste-ups, tiles, stickers, and political posters that have appeared on the facade of the SSK over the years.