The Berlin Wall Race 2022 is represented by the painting “Sonic Malade“ from the German-Hungarian singer and painter Greta Ida Csatlòs.

Little is known about the artist; the image was painted in 1990. In the foreground of the picture is a figure that represents Sonic – a popular character from an American video game at the time. His fingers are bleeding and he doesn’t look well. He is surely sick, as indicated by the painting’s title.

Furthermore, we can see Batman, the Joker, Wonder Woman with the communist symbol on her chest, Captain America and Venom, all of whom are characters from American comics.

We can see a communist flag, a pterodactylus and figures with only heads and feet. On the left and on the right, there are two grey rectangles, which might symbolize the Berlin Wall. The space in between stands for the Wall’s opening.

Various interpretations are possible: One could imagine that the elements of American culture represent the American side of Berlin and that the abstract level behind the wall as well as the figures missing their body represent the Soviet side. This difference in attention may show the (media) defeat of the Soviets during this stage of the Berlin Wall.

We would like to sincerely thank the photographer Gabriele Senft, who took the picture and made the image available to us.