In his latest project, artist Heiko Mattausch is capturing the memory of Leipzig prior to gentrification in a series of miniatures. DW's Kate Brady went to the eastern German city to meet the man behind the paintings.
Image: Heiko Mattausch
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Pre-gentrification Leipzig preserved in miniature form
In his latest project, Leipzig artist Heiko Mattausch is capturing the memory of his city's bygone era in a series of miniature paintings. In the 25 years since German reunification, the city has been widely gentrified.
Image: Heiko Mattausch
'Weekly Wonders'
As part of his online project "Weekly Wonders" Heiko Mattausch posts two oil paintings every week, often depicting Leipzig's abandoned urban and industrial landscapes. Pictured here is a view from a supermarket parking lot on Zschochersche Street in Leipzig's western Plagwitz district. "The jump over the fence which almost injured me was worth it," he said.
Image: Heiko Mattausch
Plagwitz
The industrial architecture of Leipzig's former economic powerhouse, Plagwitz, has seen some of the most remarkable renovations since the reunification of Germany in 1990. The former buildings belonging to companies such as Tittel & Krüger, a wool yarn manufacturer, and Mey & Edlich, Germany's oldest active catalogue company, are among those to have been renovated for modern Leipzig living.
Image: Heiko Mattausch
Angerbrücke
The so-called Angerbrücke - which means "Bridge on the Green" - lies on the edge of Lindenau in western Leipzig, close to Mattausch's studio. "Even 10 years ago I would never have imagined to live here," said the 39-year-old. Lindenau is the latest borough in Leipzig to have millions of euros injected into it to transform the former industrial district.
Image: Heiko Mattausch
Lindenauer Hafen
In July, Leipzig opened the connection between the Karl Heine Canal and Lindenau Harbor. In the coming years the city plans to build a new urban quarter directly on the harbor's eastern bank, providing new homes and space for hundreds of residents and businesses. Blueprints for a marina with room for up to 200 boats are also in the works.
Image: Heiko Mattausch
Felsenkeller
Built in 1890, the recently renovated Felsenkeller in Plagwitz stood empty for a number of years after the fall of the Berlin Wall. The hall used to host youth initiation ceremonies and dances. At the turn of the 20th century it was an important meeting place for the strong labor movement. Karl Liebknecht, Rosa Luxemburg and Clara Zetkin are just some of the names known to have spoken there.
Image: Heiko Mattausch
Clara Zetkin Park
In 1955, the already existing Johanna Park, Scheibenholz Park, King Albert Park and Palm Garden were combined under the new title of "Clara Zetkin Central Culture Park." GDR propaganda praised the first secretary of Leipzig's administration at the time for "fulfilling the mandate of the voters" to create the park. In 2011, however, the city decided to separate the land into its original sections.
Image: Heiko Mattausch
'A new light'
Always on the lookout for the subject of his latest painting, Mattausch often takes a photo or makes a sketch while out walking his dog, Molly. "Sometimes I come across a corner that I've walked past a thousand times before but never really interested me. Then you go one time and see it in a completely new light, whether it be down to the time of day or season."
Image: Heiko Mattausch
A certain romance
Having lived in Leipzig three times since 1994, Mattausch has experienced firsthand the vast architectural changes in the city since Germany officially reunified in 1990. He initially found the city too "gray," but now he says these places are becoming rare. "They've acquired a certain romance and that's something I really like from an artistic point of view," said Mattausch.
Image: Heiko Mattausch
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In just over two weeks, Germany will mark 25 years since the reunification of East and West. Over the past quarter of a century, Leipzig, the eastern German city which played a pivotal role in the fall of the Berlin Wall, has undergone a huge transformation.
Amid the fresh paint, new brickwork and facades of gentrification, memories of a bygone era can still be found, albeit less and less.
Since January, however, local artist Heiko Mattausch has been capturing the essence of the ever-disappearing corners of Leipzig in his twice-weekly miniature oil paintings as part of his online project, "Weekly Wonders."
"At some point, Leipzig will be completely gentrified," said Mattausch, remembering back to when the pictures he now paints were not a rarity but instead an accurate reflection of the vast majority of the city.
"I didn't like that so much," he said. "That was somehow too gray, but now that these places are becoming increasingly rare, they've acquired a certain romance and that's something I really like from an artistic point of view."
Among his most recent paintings are seldom-seen perspectives of Leipzig's abandoned urban and industrial spaces, including Angerbrücke, Lindenau and Clara Zetkin Park.
Mattausch, a former architecht, has little interest in painting the city's main sitesImage: Galerie-lilou.de
Picturesque clutter
Born in nearby Döbeln, Mattausch has lived in Leipzig three times since 1994. He has experienced firsthand the vast architectural changes in the city since Germany officially reunified on October 3, 1990.
"Leipzig has developed rapidly," said the 39-year-old. "Although the city is very small, it's become considerably more international."
Despite the city's economic and aesthetic overhaul in the last two decades, the remains of Leipzig's industrial past have fueled his latest project.
Lindenau, a neighborhood in western Leipzig where Mattausch lives and paints, is the latest of many boroughs to follow in the footsteps of Plagwitz and Leipzig's "Südstadt," or the southern part of town.
Mattausch said, however, that although the district is becoming younger and more colorful, in the meantime Lindenau has also become more cluttered, daubed in placards and motifs.
"For me that's a really picturesque surface," he said.
Tourist spots 'too plain'
In recent years the city has received global attention for its transformation, lending itself to names such as "Hypezig" and "the new Berlin."
Image: Heiko Mattausch
Mattausch has little interest in the city's main sites, however, which drew in over 1.5 million visitors and 2.5 overnight stays last year.
"I don't really paint the center or the monument to the Battle of the Nations or any of these typical tourist spots," he said, adding that such sights are "too plain" for his taste.
Instead, the former architect has been returning to old haunts from his early 20s, sometimes jumping out of the car to take a picture or make a quick sketch while out walking his dog, Molly. Amid the city's ever-changing facade, even some of his best-known locations can often leave a new impression.
"Sometimes I come across a corner that I've walked past a thousand times before but never really interested me. Then you go one time and see it in a completely new light, whether that be down to the time of day or season," he said.
"Hopefully these places will still exist for a little while longer, so that I can paint them before they completely disappear."
