C.F.

How’sGod?She‘sblack

1990
2009

"The original idea was to preserve this wall as a piece of history. But in the painted form it was now [...] more than history."

Interview 2021

C.F. was born in Hesse, West Germany. She studied law and fine arts. With her feminist painting “How’s God? She’s black” she took a stand against racism.

C. F. in the interview

On her painting

Who is Christine Fuchs?

The story behind the painting

Where were you when the wall came down?

The East Side Gallery: more than history

On preserving the East Side Gallery

What was it like to paint on the Wall?

What is the purpose of art?

On the East Side Gallery's restoration in 2009

Encounters with racism and homophobia after 1990

What significance does the East Side Gallery have today?

"The East Side Gallery is…"

With her portrayal of a black woman on the painting “How’s God? She’s black”, the artist C.F. aimed to jolt viewers’ perceptions and prompt them to rethink preconceived images of God. An inscription indicates that the painting is dedicated to a “black German lesbian” who was verbally attacked by a right-wing extremist in a Berlin subway. A feminist picture, it also responds to the rise in attacks on people perceived as non-German or non-heterosexual after 1989.

C.F. was born in Hesse, West Germany, in the 1960s. She moved to Berlin to complete her law studies. In view of the xenophobic attacks occurring in East Germany in the early 90s, she turned down an appointment as a judge in Brandenburg and studied fine arts instead. Today she runs a non-profit arts and education centre.

Online-Tours

„How’s God? She‘s black“ is part of the online-tour: Year of Upheaval in 1990

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