In
summer 2002 I took an old wooden kitchen tray and made it into a simple
hawker’s tray. There was room for six flipbooks on it. I hung a sign on
it saying “Please visit my traveling exhibition”. I walked through
Berlin and showed people my flipbook movies. Sometimes I changed the
programme. I screwed an empty honey jar underneath the hawker’s tray so
that visitors could pay a symbolic exit fee.
For nearly a year I showed people my flipbook movies in Berlin. Then I
decided to become a journeyman. I wanted to find out how people all
over the country would react to my flipbooks. And I wanted to make some
new flipbooks. As I was afraid I would miss something if I travelled
too quickly I decided to walk. In summer 2003 I walked from Berlin to
Basel via Munich. Two years later I walked the same way back, from west
to east. In summer 2006 I walked from Berlin to Cologne, in summer 2009
from Oldenburg to Wismar, and in summer 2011 from Wismar to Groß
Dölln. In 2012 I walked to a number of places where I had met
people on my earlier walks, and in summer 2014 I walked from Magdeburg
to Wabern. On all of these walks I carried my hawker’s tray with me.
Altogether I spent just under twelve months walking about 3,500
kilometres. On all of these walks my only source of money came from
showing my flipbooks.
I intend to keep on walking.
My flipbook stage show is
based on my long summer walks and the people I meet. I regularly
present it in Germany and abroad.
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