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Just · Letters from Aleppo

February 15th – March 2nd, 2013

Just · Letters from Aleppo

Letters from Aleppo — a solo exhibition by Berlin-based photographer and photojournalist Just (Boris Niehaus), curated by OPEN WALLS Gallery. Presented at Stattbad Berlin, February 15 – March 2, 2013.

In December 2012, Just traveled to Aleppo, Syria, embedding himself in the daily reality of a city under siege. The resulting body of work is raw, intimate, and unflinching — a firsthand document of life amid conflict, seen through the lens of an artist whose practice has always been rooted in the streets.

Aleppo – Rebel fighters at a sniper position Aleppo – Checkpoint on the outskirts of the city Aleppo – Fighter keeping watch through a crack in the wall Aleppo – Children in a makeshift shelter Aleppo – Bombed-out buildings in the old city, December 2012 Syrian refugee camp – Woman under a red umbrella in the rain Aleppo – Armed convoy on the road Aleppo – Boy at a fruit market beneath a shelled building Aleppo – Street scene from inside a car Aleppo – Girl with a yellow balloon in a destroyed neighborhood Aleppo – Shepherd with his flock outside the city Aleppo – Abandoned playground

The Exhibition

The first part of the show introduced the viewer to Just's photographic universe — images taken in Berlin, Hamburg, the Ruhr-Area, Poland, NYC, Tel-Aviv, and Bangkok. From punk squats to graffiti rooftops, his work has always gravitated toward subcultures, documenting the energy and risk of life on the margins.

The second part — the core of Letters from Aleppo — was a three-dimensional narrative installation. Just's letters written during his stay in Syria were printed on large panels and confronted the viewer at eye-level, alongside the photographs that accompanied them. A soundscape recorded by Thomas Rassloff brought the atmosphere of Aleppo into the space. The effect was immersive: not a distant media report, but a personal, handwritten testimony.

As American photojournalist Martha Cooper wrote: "Just's breathtaking photos are dramatic documents of daring graffiti artists in action. Through them you can vicariously experience the danger and thrills of rooftop writing." In Aleppo, that same fearless proximity found a different subject — not graffiti, but survival.

The opening coincided with the publication of Just's Aleppo stories in the Swiss reportage magazine Reportagen.

Details

Venue: Stattbad Berlin · Gerichtstr. 65, 13347 Berlin
Dates: February 15 – March 2, 2013
Hours: Thursday – Saturday, 17:00 – 20:00
Curated by: OPEN WALLS Gallery

Press

  • Der Tagesspiegel — "Das Leben liegt auf der Straße" — Bürgerkrieg in Syrien
  • Die Zeit — "In Aleppo gewöhnt man sich an die Schüsse" by Hanno Pöppel (January 2013)
  • Reportagen (Switzerland) — Publication of the Aleppo letters, coinciding with the exhibition opening
  • Issyvoo Berlin — "Just: A Berlin Graffiti Legend" by Ryan Balmer (February 14, 2013)
  • Stern — Feature on Boris Niehaus' Aleppo reportage
  • Freunde von Freunden — Feature on Just's photographic practice