BURKE, VA — Taking photos during travel is a must, but not everyone turns those moments into a book.
Burke resident Kaushik Mukerjee did just that with a photography book focusing on graffiti from Berlin, Germany. According to Mukerjee, street graffiti is prevalent in Berlin in the context of the post-Berlin Wall era. The book, “Visible Voices: Graffiti Across Berlin,” tells the story of the graffti through the lens of a camera, showing differences in the graffiti in Berlin’s Schöneberg, Wedding and the Mitte district.
Patch asked Mukerjee to discuss inspiration for the book, the process and what the book entails and what he enjoys about Burke.
Tell me about yourself and why you decided to publish a book.
I’m a Fairfax County resident, digital consultant, husband and dad. During the Covid lockdown, I took the plunge into digital photography. I decided to focus on street photography during a recent trip to Berlin, and ended up taking lots of graffiti pictures across the city. I’ve been wanting to put my photos together in a book around a theme, and my Berlin photos were a good opportunity to do just that.
What is the book about, and how did you choose the topic?
Berlin’s quite well-known for its graffiti, especially coming from the history of the Berlin Wall that fell in 1989. I’ve been to the city several times over the last few years, and during my latest trip, I really noticed the graffiti — it is literally everywhere. It was an interesting question: Why is there so much graffiti? What does it say about the city? Photographic images have a unique way of capturing the essence of a place, so I thought a compilation of these images would be a really interesting project to work on.
What was your process like to prepare the photography and book?
I took a small digital camera with me to Berlin, which was perfect for carrying around everywhere. I walked in different neighborhoods, taking photos of graffiti wherever I found it — residences, industrial buildings, restaurants and storefronts, playgrounds, even on electrical boxes. I took about 500 photos in total. When I got back to the US, I went through all the photos, chose the ones that stood out, and edited them so they’d look good in print. I knew I wanted to put them together as a collection, so I did the layout and design myself and found a self-publication platform to put it all together.
What was it like self-publishing, and what tools did you use to help in that process?
This is my first self-published book, and I had a number of options to choose from. I went with a company called Mixam – they have an online self-publishing platform that allowed me to design the book from the ground up. They also create a selling page where you can preview the book, set the price, and embed it in your website. It took some time and planning to get everything set up, but it was definitely worth it. I just received my own copy and the book looks incredible.
Have you done anything special to mark the book’s publication?
I’m finding out that book marketing is really tough, especially for something niche like a photo book. I’m doing everything by myself, so at the moment I’m focused on social media like Instagram to let people know about the book. I’m also reaching out to local photography groups and galleries to explore collaboration opportunities to share the book and give talks about my process. And of course, online publications like Patch are a big help to get the word out.
What are your favorite things about living in Burke (places, businesses, etc)?
I’ve lived in Burke since 2019 and have really enjoyed getting to know everything it has to offer. My two favorite things about Burke are Lake Barton for relaxing walks with my wife and son, and the food court at the H-Mart on Burke Road.
For more information about the book, visit kaushikm.us.
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