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World-renowned street artist Case Maclaim, known for his distinctive style and a penchant for creating hyper-realistic murals often featuring human figures and hands, has finished his immersive project on the Wisentwald nature adventure trail in Muna Münster. Using anamorphic techniques, Case Maclaim has transformed the former munition and NATO bunkers along the trail into a canvas for his art, designing the interior of one of the existing bunkers and the exterior of two other bunkers adorning them with large motifs of bison and wild horses that come ‘alive’ off the walls.
The Wisentwald nature adventure trail spans over 1.5 kilometres and is part of Deutsche Bahn’s mission to protect the natural environment along the new Frankfurt-Mannheim line. The site provides a unique opportunity to immerse yourself in nature, witnessing the beauty of bison and Przewalski horses, which roam freely in their natural habitat, while learning about environmental protection and conservation. Case Maclaim, in cooperation with a communications agency on behalf of Deutsche Bahn, has created an unforgettable experience that celebrates nature, conservation and art.
Image Copyright Deutsche Bahn AG/Andreas Varnhorn
During our insightful conversation with Case Maclaim, we embarked on a fascinating journey into the depths of Muna Münster’s history and discussed the incredible potential of art and education in reviving the place’s natural beauty. Case Maclaim was passionate about ensuring that his mural not only added beauty to the location but also helped restore nature to a place once marred by war and destruction. The result is a stunning work of art that captures the essence and vitality of these magnificent animals.
GraffitiStreet
Hidden Track was created using the anamorphic technique. Can you please explain the steps taken to create this 3D illusion?
CASE MACLAIM
Yes, in short, the process involved taking pictures of animals and painting them in a specific environment using an anamorphic technique. However, this wasn’t the initial idea. Technically speaking, I sketched out the photo reference on the surface of the ceiling and floor before selecting a specific angle that would make the illusion work. But from a conceptual perspective, this wasn’t part of the original plan…
Video courtesy Case Maclaim
GraffitiStreet
I've heard “Hidden Track” was painted in a truly unique setting, can you tell us more?
CASE MACLAIM
Exactly, the setting was really unique, and I felt honoured to be there. It was a place right next to the Hessian village of Münster, this place is called MUNA. Muna is short for ‘Munitionsanstalt,’ which means ammunition plant. The name comes from the history of the place, even though now there’s nothing left except for animals, wild horses, bison, trees, and nature. It was primarily used for the production of explosives, which I didn’t know until some friends told me. I wasn’t even aware of what this place was until I did some research and found out… Like “Holy!”.
In the beginning, it was all-natural, as told by the Forestry Commission. However, things started to change during the time of World War II when they began building up stock and industries to produce ammunition. It became crazy in the ’40s, as we all know. Then, after all the mania, the place was full of ammunition in the ground, especially in the areas where they built.
So what they did to this place was this important thing, so when it came to the end of the war, they were in a hurry, so they had to destroy everything, so the enemy, or competitors, didn’t take it, or claim it. So what they did was they just exploded it, they just detonated it, and all the explosives flew around, and all the explosive ammunition, whatever was on the ground, also went into the ground, so after the war, what they did, in the 50s, it was like an American part of Germany then, they made, like right after the war, they made all the people who were involved in the Nazi regime nitpick the stuff out of the ground. They tried to clean it up from that time on because there was so much, but there are still parts where there’s still something in the soil. They have changed the soil in certain spaces, not everywhere, but to this point, they cannot even sell it, which is an interesting thing because it’s too dangerous to sell it and to build houses, you know, it’s really intense.
During the Cold War, after Germany was split into Russian and American parts, the Bunker was used as a NATO stock for light ammunition. Whilst I was working there, the ‘explosive experts’ that dig explosives out of the ground and make sure it’s secure told me rumours there may have been atomic weapons being stored there. It really sounded like a rumour because weeks later, in Comiso, I also went onto a NATO field. For some reason… it was like a string that followed up… for some reason, sometimes this happens, and we were on another project, but it happened right after, and they had those types [Nuclear] of weapons, and the bunkers were a lot thicker and heavier. I don’t know why sometimes projects are so closely connected to each other, but it’s very interesting.
That was the unique setting of the place, something with humankind’s capabilities, like weaponry and death and everything, and now the place is returning to nature, which is one of the reasons why I really wanted to do this project.
Image Courtesy Case Maclaim
GraffitiStreet
The place has a significant historical background, aside from the possibility of explosive material in the soil! Did you encounter any challenges yourself while working on the painting in the bunker?
CASE MACLAIM
No, there wasn’t much around me; it was quite remote, and there was no energy or any other distractions. It was a really calm environment where I could concentrate on my work. Occasionally, there were people from the Forestry Commission and locals around, but that was about it. We had meetings once in a while with the people in the project to introduce and check on each other’s progress. But other than that, there weren’t any significant distractions or challenges.
Image Courtesy Case Maclaim
GraffitiStreet
Given the complexity of the anamorphic 'Hidden Track' mural and its unique location, how long did it take you to curate and paint this amazing mural?
CASE MACLAIM
All in all, it took more than two years to plan. The forest was visited remotely, and the planning started almost one and a half years before, in 2021.
The original question wasn’t to paint the bunker… It was a request from a friend of mine, something that he had in a project and asked if I would like to participate, how I saw it, and if I had any solutions, design-wise. My friend told me there’s this place, and they want to put a natural habitat. The company had this idea for the visitors and planned an exploration plateau, and on the plateau are the bunkers. He was requesting something like a cover-up solution for the ugly and old-looking, rusty-looking gates on two of those bunkers. I was like, yeah, ok, sure, it was a regular commission request type of project.
I was in Miami back then, and it was like the mists of COVID-19, so Europe it wasn’t possible to travel in October [2021]to the US, so it was the end of a trip, like a long headache kinda trip and then because of the idea… I was like, yeah, let’s go to the animals. So we set up a meeting, an online meeting, which was really interesting. I was in Miami, and like most of the people I met online for the first time, I think they were kind of impressed but also kind of jealous to have a real background of palm trees! do you know what I mean? because online, everyone tried to make the background interesting at that time!
We scheduled a meeting upfront at the end of February [2022]. The project was interesting, and we went there; there were three bunkers, two closed, and one open, and the idea from them was to have a pathway to the plateau for the visitors; they had to go by those bunkers, especially the first one that appears right away and had no gate, the gates were missing like they took it away or something. I was standing right in the centre of the pathway; the visitors would obviously see this bunker; it looked awful right away. I knew that it had to be painted over at some point, so I suggested that they should include this facility. Like, you cannot cover up two bunkers that are actually closed; they are not really scenic, more like a white cube type that creates too much contrast, so the idea of painting the bunkers to blend into the whole project was suggested. The artwork changed into an anamorphic painting due to the specific architecture of the indoor room, right in a remote area. You have the ceiling, floor, and walls; I could make this happen. The idea was to paint the animals right onto that bunker.
To have this, like, I don’t know, it makes the circle complete. It’s like nature takes back, reclaiming the manmade that is not natural. So, it’s not natural? But it’s the nature of mankind, firearms, detonating, all this stuff, like the nature of mankind, all the violence in the area, and then nature reclaims it, and to have this content in a public walk path that’s leading to another plateau. So it’s just a visual thing, it’s not the main thing, it’s not why people are going for this, they’re going to see maybe some real horses… but to play with the content of the place and for what it’s used for now, that was the concept and all the activities came in while creating it.
It was also because the place is so remote and you have to do something, you can’t tear it down, you have to play with it, they were open to anything, even painting it completely white would still be better, so it was easy to go in this direction because the place offered it. They all agreed on it, and I could start the process of researching and planning.
Image Courtesy Case Maclaim
GraffitiStreet
Did any of the wild horses or bison come to visit you whilst you were painting?
CASE MACLAIM
I visited them more than they visited me because I needed to take pictures of them and make new arrangements with the Forestry Commission. The Forestry Commission works with the bison, and there are a few volunteers who support and feed the horses while taking care of them, as they are animal lovers. This allowed me to take pictures with the horses.
The reference shot step for the final piece took place in May ’23. It took a year to negotiate everything as they had to build the viewing plateau, like a business construction, and then I could take images of the horses and bison for reference shots. In September, I went on to paint the bunker for three weeks. It’s located remotely; it takes about an hour from Frankfurt to go back and forth.
On the last day, they were close by but secured so that they couldn’t come over. But I did see them a few times.
Video Courtesy Case Maclaim
GraffitiStreet
How did you collaborate with the DB and Forestry Commission to ensure that your artwork was respectful of their natural environment?
CASE MACLAIM
I had more or less free reign; they gave me a creative workspace to get connected with the Forestry Commission, where they explained everything, they had pictures of the bison, and they explained what the place was and what it was for.
We then drove down a few paths around to try to find the horses, but we couldn’t find them, as it was winter and they were hiding, so we only took pictures with “Schakal”, which is the name of the bison, it’s a term for another animal, they named it Schakal because of the letter S, while it’s another animal, it’s like naming a dog ‘Cat’ because of the letter C.
That was more or less the collaboration, and of course, there was a project management agency from Frankfurt that coordinated all the meetings.
Video Courtesy Case Maclaim
GraffitiStreet
What did you learn through conversations during this project?
CASE MACLAIM
Quite a lot! Disturbingly interesting!
The present, the past, always leads back to the origin. Whatever you put into the soil will come up at some point. In places like this, there can still be ammunition in the ground, but it’s not always the case; forgotten things can become part of nature; for instance, they [ammunition] can be found in trees; if there were seeds in the ground, it could become part of the tree.
A few years ago, in 2022, there was a forest fire here due to a super hot summer. It wasn’t a big fire, but it was difficult to extinguish because of the possible threat of explosions above them on top of the trees from the 50-year-old ammunition parts in the ground. So they were tense; there could have been a hand grenade in the top, and with the fire coming up… so they had these issues, they had this surrounding problem technically.
I wasn’t aware of this; while I was working at the site, a facility manager came by and was interested in what I was doing. He liked my idea, and we had a conversation about the place.
He told me that it’s an issue, it’s a modern-day issue with climate change and everything, and it’s good to know, it’s interesting, and it makes sense that this happens because nature, nature grows. Whatever we do, it will become part of nature and may come back at some point. It takes years, but it’s a common thing for them, but most people aren’t aware of this interesting detail.
Image courtesy of Case Maclaim
GraffitiStreet
How can this collaboration between art and the preservation of natural habitats and wildlife help raise awareness about the importance of conservation and sustainability?
CASE MACLAIM
For sure, the easiest way is to go to the art market, sell a lot of stuff, take all the money, and then just put it into your own natural preservation project and support the project with money, but also by selling art.
This can be one way, but probably the way the question is actually aimed; I think it can be a source for gathering education, reflecting on new creations, and reclaiming the area into something that you can show more people to bring in a different type of society, like schools, or something like this, bring it to them, and make one time in the week where they can come and paint, because the facilities are there, maybe you can use this place to support creativity and then you gain a sense of what the place now represents and what happened here.
Interactivity for the younger generation might be an interesting thing, using and making them interact with their phones because they are constantly on the thing, which is the thing, making it possible to use this kind of device for going out into nature and exploring. It’s not Pokemon, but on their phones, they view and interact with their surroundings. You give parents the feeling the kids are outside while they [the kids] have the feeling they are still connected to their phones.
Image Courtesy Case Maclaim
GraffitiStreet
You also painted a couple more murals that are split into a sort of ‘stop-start animation’. Why did you want to make all these murals so interactive.
CASE MACLAIM
It’s a conceptual use of the other two bunker gates—the request to paint one of the gates with a bison and the other with a horse. The goal is to frame them into eight different movie frames, like having eight frames on one gate and creating an animation. You can interact with the frames on your own, stand in front of each frame, and then you can make a gif out of it.
There are certain apps that allow you to hold your phone in front of it, and you can see how the artwork is moving; you can be creative, you can do it on your own, and maybe dog owners will interact. Certain generations will see an opportunity for creativity; I am fishing for this!
The museum is expected to open in Spring 2024 with a QR code system and detailed explanations.
Video Courtesy Case Maclaim
GraffitiStreet
Did you paint onto the actual gates of the two bunkers?
CASE MACLAIM
No. It looks like they are on the gates, but I painted the animals on white canvas before. There are sixteen elements on three large canvases, and even though they are on the canvas, they are still not the finished piece. The editing process on the computer is technically the finished piece for this project since it’s a printed work. The idea behind this work links back to my studies in restoration, specifically for wall paintings. The work ethic behind it is to have reversibility and not to change the environment too much. For me, having a white stripe on the big gate just doesn’t look right. So, what I did was take a picture of the actual gate structure and then edit the animals on the computer on the picture—based on the canvases, which were white-surrounded, made the editing process easier.
So, somehow, it’s conducted by technology.
Video Courtesy Case Maclaim
GraffitiStreet
When you look back on your experience whats the most memorable part of the project?
CASE MACLAIM
The most memorable part of the project was one where I lost my memory, which made the project completely stand out the most that I have ever done, not from my subject matter but from my personal perspective.
It happened towards the end of the project when I only had one or two days left, and I was already, in my head, finished with the next project, which was in New York. I had to rent a car on Monday, September 18th, and to get there, I went by bike. However, I passed out somehow; I don’t know why or how. I just blacked out, and there’s no memory. I woke up in an ambulance.
Until now, I don’t know what happened. They checked me, and nothing was crazy; I didn’t break anything. I was pretty okay. I didn’t get beat up or hit by anything. I was found lying between a trash can and a bench on a Monday morning when people were going to work. I don’t know the people who found me. I was calling my wife. She was trying to reach out. It was a chaotic Monday morning.
Luckily, nothing happened. All the checks are all cool. It could have turned out differently. I could have broken my neck, spine, or something. It’s my most memorable experience. I didn’t have a helmet on since I had a small bike. It was hectic. My wife and I travel a lot, and we have travelled the world for years. It was like a reflection; you see how quickly you can go, like how the Sopranos ended, BAM.
Video Courtesy Case Maclaim
In addition to the Muna Münster trail, visitors can look forward to the opening of the Muna Museum. The museum will showcase a variety of exhibits on the history of Muna Münster, the wilderness in the bison forest, the climate forest, the forest ecosystem, climate protection, the role of Deutsche Bahn, bison and Przewalski horses, biological diversity, and the biodiversity of animals and plants.
Muna Munster is a fascinating and sobering reminder of the long-lasting effects of war. In the decades since, the area has been left untouched, allowing nature to reclaim the land. Today, visitors can witness firsthand the power of nature to heal and restore as the landscape has been transformed into a vibrant ecosystem teeming with life and art.
