Res Publica Intermodal

The contribution by Dresden-based artist Jens Besser to the 2026 Urban Art Biennale explores the phenomenon of travelling on freight trains. So-called ‘freight hoppers’ board freight trains to explore their surroundings in an adventurous way. After such a journey, these stowaways often search, exhausted, for somewhere to stay. If they cannot find suitable shelter, they set up simple, improvised tent camps using tarpaulins they have brought with them and materials they have found. A fire pit is set up in the camp to prepare food and share stories of their experiences. The installation Kompass from the Res Publica Intermodal series consists of eight tents pointing in the eight cardinal directions; these simple tent structures are made from printed or painted tarpaulins and a wooden base. The motifs on the tarpaulins are inspired by the visual appearance of goods wagons or feature drawings by Jens Besser in a location where pig iron production was only possible because tonnes of ore and coal were transported there daily by goods wagons.

2026
Screen printing on an advertising column