Absolut Berlin: A Celebration of Rebellious Spirits

Absolut Berlin was a Limited-Edition Vodka Bottle and part of our series celebrating cities and countries around the globe.

Each bottle in our Cities collection is made in collaboration with local artists to capture the authentic essence of their city through their unique perspective and artistic expression.

For Absolut Berlin, we partnered with a Berlin-based artist to Zhivago Duncan to bring the city’s vibrant energy and rebellious spirit to life.

Here, we revisit Absolut Berlin and explore the artist’s inspiration and the creative journey behind one-of-a-kind bottle design and unique collaboration.

Berlin: A city of Endless Inspiration and Creativity

In 2014, we launched Absolut Berlin, an homage to this creative mecca and the people who fuel it with talent, ideas, and energy. Choosing Berlin was a no-brainer, as its vibrant, multicultural, and artistic atmosphere perfectly embodies the spirit we celebrate.

One American newspaper likened Berlin to New York City in the 1980s, where affordable rents, ubiquitous graffiti, and an electrifying atmosphere of creativity characterize a city in transition.

Berlin has been the birthplace of renowned art movements such as Expressionism and the Bauhaus. Today, it remains one of the most creative cities in the world, a place buzzing with artists, musicians, filmmakers, performers, and video game developers.

Capturing Berlin’s Spirit with Artist Zhivago Duncan

To capture the spirit of Berlin in the bottle design, Absolut turned to Zhivago Duncan, an artist whose work displays a dazzling energy and virtuosity. Born in the United States, studied in the U.K., and now based in Berlin, Duncan, who speaks six languages, and works in as many artistic mediums, is a global citizen with a unique perspective on our contemporary world.

“As soon as I moved to Berlin, I fell in love with it,” says Duncan. “It’s a vibrant city directed towards the future. A place where people work hard and play hard, and where you don’t have to yield to all the conventionalities that other capitals have given into — where at 2 AM you may be at a club or in your studio working. But wherever you are, the creative energy of the city blasts through the windows. For me the idea of tagging the Fernsehturm suggests how the creative impulse can lead to remarkable feats, or a spray can mounted on a drone. Berlin is known to have always been a free and creative city.”

The artwork for Absolut Berlin

When we approached Duncan, we were hoping for one of his wonderfully “messy”, and anarchic multimedia creations. And there was not a splash of disappointment.

Duncan’s design transforms the iconic Absolut bottle into a window showcasing one of Berlin’s landmarks – the Fernsehturm. The bottle features a magnified image of the Fernsehturm’s famous sphere, adorned with the graffiti-style quote, “Es ist nicht einfach immer ein Rebell zu sein,” which translates to “It’s not easy to always be a rebel.” This perfectly captures the spirit of a city that has long been at the forefront of contemporary art and culture.

The color palette reflects Duncan’s personal experience of Berlin: gray for the old cement structures, green for the urban forests, turquoise for the oxidation of old statues, cadmium yellow for the golden bricks during a Berlin summer sunset, and pink for the sunrise after a long night out exploring the city and its people.

Duncan never shies away from pushing the boundaries in his artistic expression, something we deeply resonate with. This collaboration was truly special for both of us.

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Want to learn more about our Absolut Berlin Limited-Edition Vodka Bottle? Explore Absolut Berlin