On an art-focused trip to Germany with the Davis Museum at Wellesley College we visited the Boros Collection (known as Sammlung Boros) in Berlin. From 1990 to the present Christian Boros and his wife have amassed a large collection of contemporary art, including site-specific works. The art is housed in a converted bunker, which was originally built as an air raid shelter for civilians in 1942. It had many uses until purchased by Boros in 2003. It opened to the public in 2008 and is available for small group tours, which must be booked in advance.

As I went from room to room looking at the art on display my eyes wandered over the spaces themselves. I was drawn to the marks and writing on the walls, floors and ceilings. Here and there were remnants of color on mostly drab beige or gray walls. Large swaths of peeling color remained on some walls. There were arrows pointing in different directions and cautionary words. Doors, scraped and scratched, seemed foreboding, revealing spaces beyond. Some walls had things attached purpose unknown.

How many people stayed in these “rooms?” For how long? What would we hear if “walls could talk?”

Here is a selection of photos, in no particular order, from my wandering eyes.