Green Heater

By Keren Gerlitz

One rainy cold day I found myself walking around Berlin, wet and freezing, in order to finish all my tasks of the day. Suddenly, from the other side of the street, I saw an old brown heater that drew my attention. It was clear it was deserted there, free for the taking. There was also a note saying so, as they do here.

I loved it immediately, but it looked so big and heavy that the thought of dragging it along with me seemed a bit crazy. I decided to let fate decide for me. I left it there, thinking if it will still be there on my way back, it is destiny that we are meant to be together. To my surprise, I found it waiting for me a couple of hours later.

I took it with me to the studio. As we dried out and had coffee (well, I had coffee), I started examining it to understand its mechanics. As I opened it up and saw the old-school switch mechanism, I knew I had to rewire it to become lamp switches.

As I cleaned, scrubbed and repainted it, I felt a little bit reborn myself.

This is how a rusty neglected heater started my hunt for quality garbage through Berlin.