Tag Archives: Metraeda

Kiefernstrasse houses

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Kiefernstrasse translates to Pine tree street… it is a street in Dusseldorf that has history. It is lined with apartment blocks that started life as homes for workers in the local factories steel works in the late 1800s. Some were damaged during the war. In the mid 1900s they became home to squatters and other “left wing” groups. Now many of them have been fixed up and/or covered with large colourful murals.

row of buildings, 4 storeys, all covered with different colourful murals, kiefernstrasse (pine tree street) in Dusseldorf Germany

below: He’s hiding behind a tree now – a mural that M05K and Johanna OLGA painted in 2013

upper part of mural, behind a tree, person in blue head scarf, holding something yellow and large,

below: Bare feet on long skinny legs stick out of pink pants.

more of mural, blue headscarf, also pink trousers, and bare feet, sitting, smaller creatures at street level, black outfits, and pyramidal shaped hats

part of larger mural, three smaller creatures standing at street level, black outfits with just face showing, and pyramidal shaped hats, one hat is turquoise and the other is blue and purple,

below: At street level, groups of strange characters in black outfits are standing around. Except for the little one, they are all wearing hats shaped like pyramids.

part of larger mural, three smaller creatures standing at street level, black outfits with just face showing, and pyramidal shaped hats, one hat is yellow and the other is pink. one of the characters is much shorter than the others and he has no hat
green rat with large pink eras painted on concrete, beside bare foot that is part of a larger mural, rat partially behind a real garbage bin

green cat with large white eyes painted on concrete, beside bare foot that is part of a larger mural

below: There are quite a few signs that help tell the story of Kiefernstrasse. The headline on the poster below is ” 1992 Wandbilder sind lebendige Kunstwerke” (= Murals are living works of art) and the article talks about 1992 and how it was the year that Klaus Klinger, Daniel Pulido, and a group of youths painted “Everything’s Bananas” at number 37. This was the first mural on the street; it no longer exists.

framed picture of an article about the history of Kiefernstrasse, 1992, the year the first mural was painted here
apartment blocks covered in murals, kiefernstraase
residential building on kiefernstrasse covered with street art that looks like a large red honeycomb

residential building on kiefernstrasse covered with street art

below: Daniel MacLloyd painted this large blue bird.

large mural on Kiefernstrasse of a blue bird, dark blue eye, with red near the bottom of the mural, on a wall with two arches at street leel

below: This gable is covered by a marine scene – including turtles swimming in the water – was painted by Ami One

gable mural by Ami One in Dusseldorf, marine scene including turtles swimming in the water

below: Bright orange faces!

orange faces from a larger mural

below: The Dusseldorf monkey is also here.

yellow monkey crouching beside a mural with orange people

below: And again!

graffiti on a red wall - yellow stencil of a monkey holding a paint brush with his tail and a bucket in his hands, beside a paste up that says evolution in the same font as used by coca cola

below: A bright red door, surrounded by….

Kiefernstrasse houses, street level, leaves falling on wet sidewalk, one door entrance is bright red, walls have red dragon with gold clouds,

below: … a long red dragon winding its way through golden clouds.

mural on front of apartment block on kiefernstrasse, walls have red dragon with gold clouds,

below: Käferhouse, or Beetle House, by Till Martin Köster and Christian Bolte, 2008. Insects galore! beetles, ants, roaches, bedbugs…. including some with human faces on their backs.

4 storey residential building covered in paintings of insects, beetles, ants, and others both real and imaginary, mural in Dusseldorf, some insects have human faces

4 storey residential building covered in paintings of insects, beetles, ants, and others both real and imaginary crawling around between the windows, mural in Dusseldorf, some insects have human faces
4 storey residential building covered in paintings of insects, cockroaches, beetles, ants, and others both real and imaginary, mural in Dusseldorf, some insects have human faces

below: One of the many interesting smaller artworks found among the larger murals is this pair of kids in the playground riding their elephants and playing at war, or protest, or being social justice warriors… your choice. Google wants me to believe that it is a Banksy but I am not falling for it.

small graffiti, realistic (i.e. photo) image of two kids on springy elephants in a playground, one has balaclava and happy face flag, the other is wearing a metal helmet

below: Another social commentary artwork. This time a girl has plenty to eat (and takes a picture of it) while the person beside her goes without.

below: A white unicorn with laser vision – the little white sign painted into the mural says “Laser Rainbow Unicorn & Robocat Rider”. Apparently cats riding unicorns in space is not an unusual theme. The other little sign says “Kevin Gucci” – is that the artist?

part of a mural on kiefernstrasse, white unicorn with laser eyes, and two cats, one sitting in the corner, and one with robot mechanical leg and carrying a flaming sword

below: Strange things are happening on the balcony! There’s even a sheep…. but wait, that’s not a real balcony, instead the artist has employed what is known as “trompe-l’œil style” – it’s painted to look like a wooden balcony structure.

mural in "trompe-l'œil style" - it's painted to look like a wooden balcony structure.

below: At street level, under the balcony seen above, is an alcove for a garage entrance – but it seems like a green police van is parked there already! I wonder what the gnome mechanics are up to!

mural of 2 gnomes in red caps and blue tops, working on a green police van. one gnome is holding a wrench,
some of the painted houses in kiefernstrasse dusseldorf
small yellow and brown painted animal on a balcony, beside a wall painted in rainbow colors with an image of the planet earth

below: 2007’s addition to the street was a (mostly) monochrome mural that is part puzzle pieces and part little figures. Ben Mathis was responsible for creating the ‘grid’, while MaJo Brothers painted the figures such as this robot holding a cracked egg. Was it dropped? Or is it hatching? 2007.

monochrome mural that is part puzzle pieces and part little figures. Ben Mathis was responsible for creating the 'grid', while MaJo Brothers painted the figures such as this robot holding a cracked egg
large image of the urban art mural, monochrome mural that is part puzzle pieces and part little figures. Ben Mathis was responsible for creating the 'grid', while MaJo Brothers painted the figures such as this robot holding a cracked egg

robot, painting in mural

below: Splotches of blue

building with potted plants on the balcony, and walls white with big blue splotches

below: The characters (animals) in this mural are Marsupilami. They first appeared in the Belgian comic book “Spirou” in 1952 in a story below: The characters (animals) in this mural are Marsupilami. They first appeared in the Belgian comic book “Spirou” in 1952 in a story written by André Franquin. In the story, a man delivers a mysterious package from South America and as it turns out, the package contains a baby Marsupilami. Franquin continued writing about their adventures until the 1970s. In the 1980s the characters were re-invented and found themselves in TV episodes and video games.

street art on the outside of a building, between windows, a large yellow cat-like animal, marsupilami, with black spots and a very long tail

marsupilami painting on a green door, a yellow animal with black spots

below: The next two paintings flank a doorway, one on either side – an equestrian statue (i.e. a man on a horse) and a woman from time gone by but with anachronistic cans of spray paint in her hands.

mural of a man on a horse, equestrian statue
This image shows another of the articles documenting the history of the area. This one describes an event in 1919 where a train was robbed outside Dusseldorf by a gang of about 30 men, led by “A communist from Kiefernstrasse” known as Steil. He was subsequently shot by the police and died from his wounds.
mural of a woman in medieval clothing, but with a can of spray paint in each hand

below: Stencil, boy with a large helmet – ready to be an astronaut. Once upon a time there were a few more details visible in the helmet. This ‘Space Travel’ was made by Seileise aka Tim Ossege.

graffiti art, child wearing only orange shorts, seated, also wearing astronaut helmet, arm reaching out with fingers pointed

below: Everyone’s painting these days!

a framed poster describing part of the history of kiefernstrasse beside graffiti stencil of a young girl wearing a covid mask, with a large paint brush in her hand
Another poster tells the story of the first Streetfest here in 1982 where the greengrocer’s shop was turned into a cafe with a borrowed sound system.
part of larger mural, person with a red hat and a pacifier in his or her mouth

below: It almost looks like a giant crossword puzzle.

house painted in black and white squares like a crossword puzzle

below: Neptune swims upside down

urban art painting of neptune, the god, upside down, with trident in his hand, a dolphin swims nearby

below:The Reds are reaching out, wanting to run? looking for something?

painting on a door, in reds, 4 people reaching

below: He doesn’t look very happy.

man, dressed in green with blue shoes and blue cap, sitting on the ground, seems to be yelling

below: Jesus carries a goat

old railway car sits beside sidewalk, covered with street art including an image of Jesus carrying a goat

below: On an upper wall, a golden Buddha sits and meditates.

Buddha in seated meditation pose, gold, mural on wall in kiefernstraase

below: “Love will tear us apart” more than once.

little pieces of graffiti on a wall beside a large mural with orange faces, two stickers that say love will tear us apart,

below: Together in one place, four little pieces by JoinyStreetArt (round white face), sm111le, Karl Heinz Swaggert (hairy fellow on the left), and Metraeda (pink cat). If you have been following this blog, you will probably recognize some of the names and their corresponding styles.

black wall, graffiti, 4 small pieces, by JoinyStreetArt (round white face), sm111le (smiling radish), Karl Heinz Swaggert (hairy fellow on the left), and Metraeda (pink cat)

graffiti, 3D caterpillar in white, blue, pink, and yellow, glued to a wall

addition of a long red tongue to fake stonework on the front of a building, on a face with big nose and square eyes

below: Bad Goat, with a strand of green vine and a third eye

bad goat graffiti, a white goat head with black horns and three eyes, graffiti

below: “Nothing else matters” actually refers to a football club.

graffiti
graffiti stickers and paste ups

Photos taken October 2025

Together on a concrete wall

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A while back I posted about street art that I found around Hochstadenring in Bonn (Dec 2025). What I omitted from that post was a section of the wall that was heavily covered with paste-ups, stickers, and other small pieces of street art. This is that section.

concrete wall between street and elevated section of road, with many graffiti slaps and paste ups on it, Bonn Germany

below: A happy blue monkey by Opus.

paste ups on a wall, a large blue monkey with glasses and a toque, making a heart sign with his hands, by artist known as Opus, There is also an orange figure by Jam Paste (also graffiti)

below: A red frog clings to a character that looks rather concerned about that large skull lurking behind him. I think that this is a good example of an interesting juxtaposition, whether intentional or accidental, that you can get when you have a collection of pieces from different artists together in one place.

paste up graffiti pieces, A red frog clings to a character that looks rather concerned about that large skull lurking behind him.

below: Elvis is in the building!

paper paste up graffiti in Bonn including an image of Elvis Presley. Rock and Roll King,

below: “You’re driving me bananas!”, a young Sophia Loren, a bird in flight, a green octopus dressed in red and white stripes, and many more slaps.

collection of stickers and paper paste ups on a concrete wall in Bonn, one with text that says plus "You're driving me bananas!", a young Sophia Loren, a bird in flight, a green octopus dressed in red and white stripes, and many more

below: Green Taxonomy, and in the bottom corner, Planet Selfie. Made of triangles and other angular shapes is a white protestor holding a sign that says “Yetis geggen rechts” by Metraeda

graffiti - Metraeda drawing of a yeti, Green Taxonomy poster of a large green face, CAP, or cut and piece, blue character from Mario Brothers game, a dragon, and a vase,

paste ups on a concrete wall

below: More love on a phone – this time featuring Sulley from the movie “Monsters Inc”.

paste ups, graffiti, featuring Sulley from the movie "Monsters Inc". holding a phone that says love, also an image of a couple standing together

below: The paste ups that reference art history (e.g. Rodin’s “The Thinker” and other statues) are the work of Jam Paste. In the center, “It’s not dreams that escape me, but reality”.

collection of graffiti and urban art on a concrete wall in Bonn

paste ups on a concrete wall

below: 8arms2hug is all about octopi including this lovely lady in turquoise with the flowers on her head and a necklace around her neck. Beside her, the bunnies with baseball bats were created by CAP aka Cuts and Pieces.

two paste ups, on the left an octopus and on the right, black and white rabbits with a baseball bat

below: Several posters are here too – One says “WAS HATTEST DU AN!” (= What were you wearing!) while another proclaims, “das Kleben ist schön” (which translates to “pasting is beautiful”).

posters and paste ups in a collection of graffiti
paste ups in a collection of graffiti

below: A Maid in Cologne artwork shares space with Mr. Burns, from the Simpsons TV show, with a French phrase on his cap, “L’Etat c’est moi”.

paste ups, one features Mr Burns from the Simpsons show

below: Another section with a lot going on including a Zastoj character with 2 X’s for eyes who holds a gun that is almost as big as he it. At the bottom, the striped shirt on that shape suggests Sailordude by TRP613 but his head is different – a collaboration with another artist? Perhaps Metraeda?

graffit by Zastoj, sailordude by trp613, and metraeda, as well as others

paste up graffiti in Bonn including a lego figure robot

below: Once again, there is a lot happening here – from Jams Pastes version of the Thinker, to a small woman carrying a protest sign that says “Frieden, Bier, Sonne” – peace, beer, sun. My apologies to the artist of the latter piece – her name is written on the arm in the image but I can’t read it (b. chandre?).
Three of the paste ups are text, made like beer coasters, and these are by Bierdeckel Street Art.

paper paste ups including sign that says Society sucks - be careful, a copy of Rodin's sculpture by Jams Paste, the thinker, a small woman holding a protest sign that says, in German, Frieden Bier and Sonne (peace, beer, sun) by
The three beer coaster inspired paste ups:
1. “Wickl Dich Nicht Ich”: this translates roughly to “Don’t wrap yourself,
2. “Liebe das Leben”: This green sticker translates to “Love Life.”
3. “Be Kind To Your Mind”

below: One strange looking monster by Sheep Art Cologne (aka Klaus Schaefer)

black and white image of a monster creature, paper paste up by sheep art cologne

Photos taken October 2025

barber shop wheatpaste

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below: In the Belgian Quarter of Cologne, where the streets are named after Belgian cities, there is a barber shop (and hair salon) where the exterior wall is covered with paper.

a woman sits on a small stool outside of a barber shop, on her phone, all of exterior wall is covered with graffiti slaps, stickers, and paste ups,

below: Blue hair, purple hair, and a fat yellow bumble bee.

paper graffiti on an exterior wall, a woman with very blue hair that is tied up in two buns, one on each side of her had, also a big fat yellow bumble bee and a light blue doll by angry amily and lady mkei, with purple hair

below: These are Angry Amily drawings on brown paper

angry amily long haired young girl with green hat, beside brown teddy bear character, another fat yellow bumble bee

below: Another section of the wall – The portrait, lower left, is probably about Sophie Scholl and the white rose movement. Scholl (1921-1943) was a German student who was active in the White Rose Movement, an anti-Nazi organization at the time of Hitler’s rule. She was executed on 22 Feb 1943.

below: Evyrein’s Elon Musk/Mask is in the middle. Notice the little Hitler mustache. Also, the placement of Elon’s body over the stiletto heels is marvelous! To the right of Elon is a little pink octopus hanging onto a red heart by 8arms2hug, a maker of octopus-themed street art.

below: Cats and rappers. Garfield is on his phone while under a three-eyed cat. The three men are Joseph Simmons, Darryl McDaniels, and Jason Mizell of the hip hop group RUN-DMC. The group was formed in 1983.

below: The images of people on cans of spray paint is the work of The Postman. Much of his art focuses on celebrities, many of whom, such as Grace Jones and Sid Vicious pictured here, have appeared on these spray paint cans. Tweet cat (now sporting a German fedora) sneaks into the photo too.

below: Many little things can be seen up near the top of the wall.

below: “The tide is high; my love is low” by Behind Green Eyes, is reminiscent of lyrics from song by Blondie, “The tide is high but I’m holdin’ on, I’m gonna be your number one.”

spam is the signature on blue graffiti, text graffiti by behind green eyes that says The tide is high my love is low but I'm hoping on, other text graffiti that says try before you die.

below: A series of cartoonish characters in various colours form a column beside a window. Lots of merde there too but I am not sure if that is part of the original drawings or if they were added after.

paste up graffiti on a wall, 7 cartoonish characters in a column, all in different colours, the word merde has been written over each one in white ink or white marker,

below: A large blue cat by Metraeda prowls beneath a portrait in shades of brown.

two large paper wheatpaste, one is portrai of brown girl with long brown hair, and the other is a large blue cat (cougar, bobcat, lion?)

below: Pope with a gun. Pope Benedict XVI in fact. The hat in this picture is the same as the hat worn by Benedict XVI in the picture used by Wikipedia. It is an image of Jesus holding a cross while he sits with two sheep.

graffiti image of pope benedict the 16th, holding a large pistol gun

below: Zoologne, aka Marcel Kreutzer is the creator of the small round sticker with the oval yellow happy face standing beside a plant. There are quite a few similar stickers all over Cologne. As for the fiddler, I have no idea who produced that image.

slaps and paste ups on a wall, a man in black pants and white shirt, playing a violin. sticker by nanE, another sticker by zoologne,

below: The signature seems to be RUDE and might be your opinion of the image as well.

RUDE stencil graffiti, young girl vomiting

below: An unhappy green bomb with a microphone. Or at least it looks like a comic drawing of a bomb – that way I can say that it’s unhappy because it’s bombing on stage.

below: Reading cross-legged on the floor.

paste up by angry amily, black drawing on brown paper.

below: Bee nice or buzz off, as well as Support your local Antifa.

slaps and wheatpaste on a wall in the Belgian quarter of Cologne

below: Diskettenlaufwerk is actaully the name of an Ultimate Frisbee team. NanE (or Nanelife)

slaps and wheatpaste on a wall in the Belgian quarter of Cologne

below: Clint Eastwood is portrayed as The Savior in this paste-up. Actually there is quite a bit here – a very small pink Ghostcat, a yellow smiley face, a NanE slice of bread, “Love knows no conditions” text by BehindGreenEyes, as well as a pink and black portrait by Pixmen… and more

stickers and pasteups on a wall in Cologne or Koln, urban art, Clint Eastwood as the savior, loves knows no conditions, a yellow happy face,

below: A cute little girl and an even cuter little red block with googly eyes.

pasteups on a wall in Cologne, little girl in orange dress, beer de froo, small red block with googly eyes

below: More paper.

many stickers pasteups on a wall in Cologne, The corona brothers, nane apple faces, paradoxon, black and white women's portraits,

below: Skulls and more

pasteups on a wall in Cologne, chicken, heart Joiny in blue, man, Nane fish, black bomb 4 skulls,

pasteups on a wall in Cologne or Koln, love rocks, a black and white portrait of a man,

below: It looks like a chicken in orange and blue as well as an anatomical heart with slight modifications. Perhaps that’s where his heart lies, or where it longs to be.

pasteups on a wall in Cologne, orange and blue chicken, anatomical heart divided into sections,

below: A big hug for Mopsy! Lots of love for an amazing character!

graffiti stickers on two metal poles, On the left at the top, are four monsters, 2 are purple, one is turquoise, and the fourth is yellow. All have big teeth. On the bottom, an orange cat is giving pug Mopsy a big hug. On the other pole is a weird green cow with text eat more weed

below: Encouraging words by Luna in a white circle with an Australian themed sticker by Tweet below it (kangaroo, emu and balloons!). On the other pipe are two creatures. The one on the bottom is a collaboration between MyCuteCreatures and Joiny.

4 graffiti stickers on 2 metal poles. Words by Luna, aka wortevonluna, in a round white sticker, another sticker is by tween street art with a kangaroo, an emu, some flowers, and lots of balloons. Another stricker id a my cute creatures image“Sei doch mal – Nicht so streng mit dir – Du hast die wahl – immer, jetzt und hier” br> Don’t be so hard on yourself. You have a choice, always, now and here.

Photos taken November 2025