"For me, the East Side Gallery is an insane, expensive and repeatedly failing attempt to reanimate a corpse."
Ursula Wünsch was born in Raschau in the Ore Mountains (East Germany) in 1946. She combined her school-leaving diploma with vocational training in masonry and then studied industrial design. She became a successful toy designer. Her painting “Frieden für Alles” (“Peace for Everything”) is dedicated to children everywhere and is an appeal to cherish and protect the natural world.
Ursula Wünsch in the interview
"I was allowed to go to the West to work in GDR times because I brought in money. And I came back every time. I would never have stayed in the West. To me that's not even a country!"
In the painting “Frieden für Alles” (“Peace for Everything”) many different animals are fused into one fantasy creature. In this way, the artist criticised people’s tendency to be blind to the world around them. Not seeing Mother Earth under its feet, the serpent can only live thanks to the strength, claws, and imagination of the other animals. The butterfly with a burnt wing is a reminder of Hiroshima. The dove is a protector of children. The flowers on the giraffe’s head stand for dreams and the soul. The painting depicts the dawn of a peaceful world where every child has a place. It is dedicated to children everywhere and calls on humankind to respect and protect the natural world. In 2009, Ursula Wünsch added lines quoting Bertolt Brecht.
Having simultaneously gained her high school diploma and a professional qualification as a mason, Wünsch studied toy design at the Burg Giebichenstein College of Industrial Design in Halle. In 1971 she started working as a toy and game designer, gaining national and international success, and winning several awards. After the fall of the Wall, Ursula Wünsch’s client base completely changed. She built up a new professional network and her toys are now sold worldwide.