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Thierry Noir and STIK paint original sections of the Berlin Wall to mark the 30th anniversary of its fall

For years, the Berlin Wall represented a divided world. Now two leading street artists have united to create an artwork to mark the 30th anniversary of its fall.

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All images courtesy of Thierry Noir and STIK, and the Imperial War Museum. Via CB submission

All images courtesy of Thierry Noir and STIK, and the Imperial War Museum. Via CB submission

Thierry Noir and STIK have collaborated with the Imperial War Museum in London to paint two original segments of the ugly concrete structure, which came down on 9 November 1989 and became one of the most iconic and defining moments of the 20th century.

The pieces were explicitly brought to the capital earlier this month. Entitled WALL, the artworks will be on display outside the museum until 1 December.

Of course, street art began appearing on the Berlin Wall in the early 1980s as a form of artistic resistance and political commentary. French artist Thierry Noir was a trailblazer of this movement, and the first to paint long stretches of the Berlin Wall.

Meanwhile, STIK continues the tradition of street art as a tool of social change. His trademark stick figures voice the struggles facing communities around the world.

Noir says: "My generation has a duty to explain what life was like with the Berlin Wall in a way that young people will not repeat the mistakes of the past. I first met STIK in Berlin in 2012, and we became friends. For the thirtieth anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, our new joint work on two original Berlin Wall sections is a message to these future generations."

The fall of the Berlin Wall on 9 November 1989 signalled the end of the Cold War. It triggered the reunification of Germany and the subsequent dissolution of the USSR. Europe reshaped, and both its physical borders, and its political and social identity continue to evolve today.

But thirty years on, walls and physical barriers between people have multiplied, as the world faces a new set of twenty-first-century tensions. It's hoped Thierry Noir and STIK's WALL artwork will remind people of what's important. Find out more at www.iwm.org.uk.

Red truck carrying a painted Berlin Wall segment featuring colourful abstract figures, positioned outside the Imperial War Museum in London with its domed building visible behind
Workers on scaffolding paint STIK's trademark stick figure character on an original Berlin Wall segment outside the Imperial War Museum in London
Red crane lifting a concrete Berlin Wall segment painted with STIK's signature blue stick figure outside the Imperial War Museum in London, with workers in high-visibility jackets nearby
STIK's simple stick figure artwork painted on an original Berlin Wall segment displayed outside the Imperial War Museum in London, with the museum's classical dome visible behind it
A red refuse truck with colourful artwork drives past the Imperial War Museum's neoclassical building with its distinctive green copper dome, surrounded by autumn foliage
Workers in high-visibility clothing guide a crane lowering a painted concrete section of the Berlin Wall onto a transport truck outside the Imperial War Museum
A red truck with a crane carefully lifts a concrete Berlin Wall segment painted with a stylised face by Thierry Noir, whilst a worker in a yellow hard hat and high-visibility vest guides the operation beneath autumn trees
Construction workers in high-visibility jackets examine two original Berlin Wall segments painted by Thierry Noir and STIK outside the Imperial War Museum in London, with autumn foliage visible nearby
Two painted Berlin Wall segments beneath an autumn tree: Thierry Noir's colourful figure holding a red heart on the left, STIK's minimalist stick figure on the right
Street artist STIK stands atop a concrete Berlin Wall segment painted with his signature white stick figure with simple dots for eyes against autumn trees
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