Works of 50 Artists Displayed on Balconies in Berlin

A beautiful art installation displayed on an artist's balcony was part of the Balconies, Life, Art, Pandemic, and Proximity exhibition last week in Berlin. Photos: JOHN MACGOUGALL/AFP
A beautiful art installation displayed on an artist's balcony was part of the Balconies, Life, Art, Pandemic, and Proximity exhibition last week in Berlin. Photos: JOHN MACGOUGALL/AFP
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Works of 50 Artists Displayed on Balconies in Berlin

A beautiful art installation displayed on an artist's balcony was part of the Balconies, Life, Art, Pandemic, and Proximity exhibition last week in Berlin. Photos: JOHN MACGOUGALL/AFP
A beautiful art installation displayed on an artist's balcony was part of the Balconies, Life, Art, Pandemic, and Proximity exhibition last week in Berlin. Photos: JOHN MACGOUGALL/AFP

After the closure of Berlin's art galleries over the COVID-19 pandemic, around 50 artists exhibited their works on balconies, calling the audience for an "intimate visit" to enjoy their creations.

"At a time when our freedom of movement is suspended, balconies have become unique performance sites," said the organizers who launched the project in the Prenzlauer Berg district of east Berlin.

The project's curators Ovul Durmusoglu and Joanna Warsza, who called the artists to unleash their imagination, said: "Balconies are for getting a breath of fresh air, spending some time in the sun or smoking."

The curious walkers in Berlin, where the rules of isolation in the face of the coronavirus pandemic are less strict than elsewhere in Germany, are invited to raise their heads and admire the artworks.

One artist displayed black and white photographs of people on their balconies in Athens and Cordoba, while another hung a ladder made from tree branches.

Other installation presents ribbons of toilet paper cascading down a building's facade, a reference to Germans' rush to stock up on the must-have commodity as soon as the coronavirus pandemic arrived in Europe.

The project with "zero budget, no preview, no crowds" aims to provide "an intimate walk in search of signs of life and art", the organizers said.



US Bans Red Food Dye over Possible Cancer Risk

Fruit by the Foot, a product that uses Red Dye No 3, can be seen on a shelf at a supermarket in this illustration photograph on December 27, 2024 - AFP
Fruit by the Foot, a product that uses Red Dye No 3, can be seen on a shelf at a supermarket in this illustration photograph on December 27, 2024 - AFP
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US Bans Red Food Dye over Possible Cancer Risk

Fruit by the Foot, a product that uses Red Dye No 3, can be seen on a shelf at a supermarket in this illustration photograph on December 27, 2024 - AFP
Fruit by the Foot, a product that uses Red Dye No 3, can be seen on a shelf at a supermarket in this illustration photograph on December 27, 2024 - AFP

Outgoing US President Joe Biden's administration on Wednesday announced a ban on Red Dye No 3, a controversial food and drug coloring long known to cause cancer in animals.

Decades after scientific evidence first raised alarm, Red 3, as it is also called, is currently used in nearly 3,000 food products in the United States, according to the nonprofit Environmental Working Group.

"FDA is revoking the authorized uses in food and ingested drugs of FD&C Red No 3 in the color additive regulations," said a document from the Department of Health and Human Services, published in the Federal Register on Wednesday, AFP reported.

The decision follows a petition filed in November 2022 by the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) and other advocacy groups, which cited the "Delaney Clause" -- a provision mandating the prohibition of any color additive shown to cause cancer in humans or animals.

Notably, the FDA determined as early as 1990 that Red 3 should be banned in cosmetics because of its link to thyroid cancer in lab rats.

However, the additive continued to be used in foods, largely due to resistance from the food industry. Manufacturers of maraschino cherries, for example, relied on Red 3 to maintain the iconic red hue of their products.

It's also present in thousands of candies, snacks and fruit products.

The United States is one of the last major economies to take action on the dye. The European Union prohibited its use in 1994, with similar bans implemented in Japan, China, the UK, Australia and New Zealand.

CSPI hailed the decision as overdue and expressed hope it would lead to further action against other potentially harmful chemicals in food.

"They don't add any nutritional value, they don't preserve the food -- they're just there to make food look pretty," Thomas Galligan, a scientist with CSPI, told AFP.

"There's growing discussion across the political spectrum about food additives and chemicals, which reflects ongoing failures by the FDA."