Two artworks by Jock McFadyen to go on permanent display at IWM North as Imperial War Museums marks 30 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall

To coincide with the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, Christmas in Berlin (1991) and Die Mauer (1991), painted by renowned artist Jock McFadyen, will be going on permanent display at IWM North. This is the first time in over a decade that the paintings have been on public display.

The fall of the Berlin Wall on 9 November 1989 signalled the end of the Cold War, triggering the reunification of Germany and the subsequent dissolution of the USSR. Europe was reshaped, both in its physical borders and its political and social identity, which continue to evolve today. In 1990, the year following the fall of the Berlin Wall, Scottish artist Jock McFadyen was commissioned by Imperial War Museums to respond to this momentous event in history and to record its impact on the city and its residents.

In Christmas in Berlin (left), McFadyen blurs the distinction between the Wall and the cityscape of Berlin. The Wall can be seen covered in vividly coloured markings and large-scale symbols representing graffiti, set against a wintry grey background. In the distance, festival lights, one in the shape of a Christmas tree, shine dimly against the buildings. Beyond the Wall, the iconic sphere of the Berliner Fernsehturm (Television Tower) in Alexanderplatz dominates the skyline. During the Cold War, residents of East Berlin would visit the top of the Tower, which was the highest point in the city, to view the West.

Die Mauer, meaning ‘the wall’, (right) shows the Berlin Wall in a state of ruin; the reinforced concrete has been chipped away by ‘Wall-peckers’ who have taken pieces of the structure as souvenirs. Through window-like openings in the Wall, an idyllic landscape is revealed, beyond where a stretch of no man’s land, known as the ‘death strip,’ once ran. In this painting, Jock McFadyen has described the Wall as a canvas for layers of graffiti. Seemingly illegible at first, the expressive shapes and letters are actually symbols, words and drawings with personal, social and political meaning.

Paris Agar, Art Curator, Cold War and Late 20th-Century Conflict, said: “The fall of the Berlin Wall was one of the most iconic and defining moments of the 20th century. Since the mid-1970s, IWM has collected and commissioned contemporary artists' personal, political and conceptual responses to conflict. Jock McFadyen’s artworks are a perfect example of how art can help us to reflect on the impact such a significant moment in world history. We are extremely fortunate that we have these paintings in our collection and we are delighted that they are now going on permanent display at IWM North.”

On Saturday 9 and Sunday 10 November, visitors to IWM North will be able to meet veterans and eyewitnesses from home and overseas who lived through the Cold War. Visitors can also share their memories and thoughts on Twitter, using #VoicesOfTheWall. The Voices Of The Wall campaign is run by IWMs’ War and Conflict Subject Specialist Network, which works with more than 300 organisations around the world who look at conflict since the First World War.

IWM holds a world-class collection of British art acquired since the First World War, and since its foundation has been the recipient of government art commissions designed to ‘record’ the experiences of war. Some 180 artists were commissioned or employed to help record the experiences of the two World Wars and over 5,000 related works were acquired by IWM as a result of the schemes. Continuing in the same vein, IWM has collected work from artists recording more recent conflict in Northern Ireland, the Falklands, Bosnia, Iraq and Afghanistan.

Christmas in Berlin and Die Mauer will be on display in the Main Exhibition Space at IWM North from 8 November 2019.

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For further press information, images and interview requests please contact: Rhodri Cole, Communications Officer (Corporate), [email protected] / 020 7416 5420

Notes to editors

IWM North The multi award winning IWM North brings Imperial War Museums’ national collection to northern audiences. Designed by world-renowned architect Daniel Libeskind to represent a globe shattered by conflict, the iconic building, innovative and dynamic exhibitions, use of digital media through hourly Big Picture Shows and public events explore how war shapes lives and inspires and encourages debate.

Open Daily: 10am – 5pm. Last entry 30 minutes before closing. (Closed 24 – 26 December). Free Admission.

IWM North, The Quays, Trafford Wharf Road, Manchester M17 1TZ (close to MediaCityUK Metrolink and Junction 9 of the M60) T: 020 7416 5000 iwm.org.uk / @IWMNorth / www.facebook.com/iwm.north

IWM IWM (Imperial War Museums) tells the story of people who have lived, fought and died in conflicts involving Britain and the Commonwealth since the First World War.

Our unique collections, made up of the everyday and the exceptional, reveal stories of people, places, ideas and events. Using these, we tell vivid personal stories and create powerful physical experiences across our five museums that reflect the realities of war as both a destructive and creative force. We challenge people to look at conflict from different perspectives, enriching their understanding of the causes, course and consequences of war and its impact on people’s lives.

IWM’s five branches which attract over 2.5 million visitors each year are IWM London, IWM’s flagship branch that recently transformed with new, permanent and free First World War Galleries alongside new displays across the iconic Atrium to mark the Centenary of the First World War; IWM North, housed in an iconic award- winning building designed by Daniel Libeskind; IWM Duxford, a world renowned aviation museum and Britain's best preserved wartime airfield; Churchill War Rooms, housed in Churchill’s secret headquarters below Whitehall; and the Second World War cruiser HMS Belfast.

Jock McFadyen Jock McFadyen RA was born in Paisley, Scotland, in 1950. He studied at Chelsea School of Art, graduating in 1976. Five years later McFadyen was appointed Artist in Residence at the National Gallery in London. In 1990, he was commissioned by the Artistic Records Committee of the Imperial War Museum to record Berlin after the fall of the Berlin Wall. His subsequent work was displayed in the temporary exhibition Fragments From Berlin at Imperial War Museum London, which toured to Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum in Glasgow, and Manchester Art Gallery, in 1992. Elected to the Royal Academy in 2012, McFadyen has had over 40 solo exhibitions. His work is held by 30 public collections as well as private and corporate collections in Britain and overseas. Most recently, he coordinated the Royal Academy’s prestigious 2019 Summer Exhibition.