Scraps of Metal

Woachim Roderer, 36, washes some coffee cups in an outdoor trough conveniently set beneath a fire hydrant. Visitors often stop by his ground-floor studio, and he rarely has clean cups.

"I had a really hard time finding my way in life. I studied to be a teacher for handicapped kids, but it wasn't for me. I was very involved in the ecological and liberal political movements of the '70s and '80s, but that all died down. For me also it's not a solution to work politically anymore. The only way to change things is to live it. Young people today - like my girlfriend, who's 24 - don't; live with any view of the future, of utopia.

"The physical part of doing sculptures is very important - it's the only thing that makes me feel healthy when I'm depressed. I come here every day, seven days a week. Of course it's important not to work too hard, either.

"I can't stand working in the normal system of society - you have to buy a car, get married, have kids - everything is very clear until the age of 75.

"What I love about this place is that is that it's completely different from living outside, in regular society. Some of the 'rules' are not working here - the buildings are falling apart, and the electricity is often off.

"I've been here in Atelierstandort Nippes since '92, almost from the beginning."

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