This selection of 14 photographs is part of the many photographs I took in one of Berlin's atomic bunkers (Kurfürstendamm)on three separate occasions: in 2004 during my first stay in the city, in 2005 during my second stay and finally, in 2007 while I was a guest composer of the BERLINER KÜNSTLERPROGRAMM of the DAAD for one year.

These photographs served as source of inspiration for the composition of my series Shel(l)ter for ensemble and electronics and express both a search for abstraction and the oppressive feeling that such a confined space can generate, with its underground location, its darkness and artificial lighting, and the opacity of the walls that let in no sound.

Clara Maïda, September 2007