Nitya Misra
What can lost objects reveal about a city? What can they tell us about the people who move through its spaces? I spent the first portion of my stay at Lichtenberg Studios walking around. I put up posters around the neighbourhood, and also scoured through online forums to see what people had lost and found. I visited Fundbüros, and also spoke to people I met about objects they have lost.
The stories I collected came together in an exhibition – Lost & Found in Lichtenberg. Through this I wanted to explore the emotional and cultural narratives embedded in lost and found objects.
While visiting the BLO Ateliers close to the Nöldnerplatz S-Bahn station, I found inspiration in what used to be a Deutsch Bahn depot and service centre for passenger trains. There is still a giant crater on the ground from when it was bombed during the war, and what used to be warehouses, factories, and hotels for DB staff is now a sprawling creative wonderland run by and for artists. I love the visual of an abandoned train station…
…so in the studio of Lichtenberg Studios, came alive Lostkreuz – a fictional station beyond the map. This isn’t just an old, abandoned stop; it’s the final destination for everything misplaced; a terminus for objects adrift in time. The silent tracks echo with the memories of those who once held these items.
The exhibition featured a curated selection of documented, unclaimed items alongside personal stories, both gathered and contributed. Visitors were invited to take part in an evolving archive by sharing their own oral histories of lost possessions — layering the exhibition with new voices and memories. I saw these items not as mere remnants, but as fragments of a larger, collective portrait — intimate entry points into the psyche of a place.
It felt bitter-sweet to be the last resident at the programme, and it made my time at the studio feel even more special. I felt like I could sense the energy and memories of the countless artists who have inhabited this studio before me, both through the random collection of objects as well as the space.
