Lapiz Paints 'Retirement' Mural in Abandoned East German Substation
Artist Lapiz has created a mural titled 'Retirement (is about exploring your wide open future)' inside a crumbling former GDR-era electrical substation near Chemnitz, Saxony, East Germany. The work depicts elderly citizens scavenging for returnable bottles, critiquing pension inadequacy and economic precarity post-reunification. It uses luxury-brand parody patterns that reference welfare systems, and the title quotes a corporate retirement campaign. The mural was painted during a festival at Kulturnetzwerk Etzdorf, highlighting the contrast between abandoned industrial relics and contemporary social issues.
Key facts
- Lapiz painted a mural inside an abandoned electrical substation near Chemnitz, Saxony, East Germany.
- The mural is titled 'Retirement (is about exploring your wide open future)'.
- It shows elderly citizens rummaging for returnable bottles and cans.
- The work parodies luxury-brand patterns with symbols of poverty: job centers, food assistance, recycling, welfare.
- The title is lifted from a corporate retirement campaign for an automotive executive.
- The mural was created during a festival at Kulturnetzwerk Etzdorf.
- The substation is a former GDR-era energy facility.
- The work critiques economic systems and the gap between wealth and basic needs.
Entities
Artists
- Lapiz
Institutions
- Kulturnetzwerk Etzdorf
Locations
- Chemnitz
- Saxony
- East Germany
- Germany