Lost & Found: James Reka

Since relocating to Berlin from Melbourne in 2013, I have spent eight years working on a long-term project exploring and painting in the vast selection of abandoned buildings, Industrial factories and military bases located in what was once Soviet-occupied East Germany. I wanted to uncover what remained in the debris that may reveal clues to these structures' former history or purpose. The findings were to be a source of inspiration to paint a series of 'abandoned objects'.

Many painters like myself painted murals or graffiti in these locations. I noted that some in the past had discarded their empty spray cans, paint tins and other painting materials amongst the debris. I decided to start searching for and collecting these beautifully, naturally decayed and rusted paint tins and cans. The intention was to use them as a medium for me to manipulate and paint directly onto. I began a process that was, in a sense, a reinvention of these discarded objects.

Through my intervention, these objects discarded as rubbish transform into precious and desirable artworks.