Three years ago I climbed the narrow stairs of the OZM
gallery up. Despite the central location right in the Schanzenviertel, I already had the feeling that I had stumbled upon a secret. This old building stood away from the hustle and bustle of passers-by. Although painted from top to bottom, I would never have guessed what was hidden behind these walls.
This impression should never completely disappear. Even after routinely going in and out of the gallery, this scene didn't lose its magic for me.
Of course, this was not just due to the surroundings or the mysteriously dark staircase that ran through all four floors, it was more due to the overall picture, which culminated in the main exhibition at that time Darco FBI “Level Superior” found.
Darco’s work, which extended throughout the entire space and thus beyond the boundaries of the simple picture, signalled mir from the beginning that too OZM as such is not to be understood simply as the institution “gallery”. Rather, it stands for a creative concept that can be characterized by its ability to transcend boundaries.
The basis of this effect lies in the fact that all projects are curated by an artist himself. OZM means for me art in art – without a frame. Thinking outside the box.
A year after I completed my internship with Alex Heimkind, I received the news that the gallery was being demolished.
At the time it made me angry. How can you destroy such a cultural monument, shot mir through my head. The cancer cell designed by OZ, the submarine/spaceship by Heimkind and the enormous facade, all of that was to be razed to the ground.
But as cheesy as it may sound, Alex Heimkind’s ambitions have
mir shown that it is true: where one door closes, there also opens a new one.
With Hammerbrooklyn, not only a door has opened, but a huge gate. A gate to a new world that is so different from the old OZM and yet, in an almost comical way, bears certain similarities.
The feeling of entering a mysterious world as soon as you walk through the gate to the inner courtyard is the same as it was then. The sound of the passing S-Bahn, that metallic squeaking sound that penetrates the empty space and gets under your skin, has remained the same.
The size has changed and with it the creative potential. the OZM gGmbH now consists of a team that has set itself the task of breaking new ground with its unique projects in the field of street art and graffiti art.
Once again, the credo is to think and act beyond the picture frames, the boundaries of our location in Hammerbrook and those of Hamburg.
I am very happy and honored to be able to contribute to the outstanding Hammerbrooklyn project through this and future contributions.
In the future I will, together with Greta, who is responsible for art history, oversee the projects of the OZM gGmbH accompany and document to give you a touch of the OZM- To be able to teach magic.