Off Limits

Off Limits by Rab Lewin offers a rare insight into Berlin’s squatter and techno-traveller communities in the years immediately following the fall of the Wall.

The book documents a liminal urban landscape, left half-derelict before reunification, where abandoned buildings became homes, exhibition spaces, political centres, and sites for free techno festivals. Rab Lewin captures the bizarre and chaotic alongside moments of intimacy, friendship, quiet pauses, and unguarded expressions of freedom.

With an introduction providing historical and cultural context, the images reveal the outlandish, spontaneous, and often anarchic adventures of these communities, while also highlighting their creativity and resilience. From art to architecture, DJs to political action, Off Limits stands as both a record of a singular moment in time and a testament to the alternative subcultures that shaped Berlin — presented here in its second edition.