In an interview with the editor Matthias Winzen, Stephan Balkenhol – who has subjected one of his patiently forbearing figures on this occasion to a „Balancing Act“ for the anniversary of German reunification – also maintains that a meaningful monument to commemorate German Unity is a tricky enterprise. In the capital Berlin, not far from Checkpoint Charlie and in front of the high-rise Springer Building, a man wearing a white shirt and black trousers is balancing on a piece of stylised wall that is itself situated in a flashpoint of German post-war history.

The book gives an account of the work’s development in the studio, as well as being a short reader of the history of the City of Berlin.