At this year’s Venice Bienniale in Italy, the Korean pavilion has a curious exhibit called “Commissions for Utopia”. It includes renderings from North Korea’s top architects and artists (all anonymous), many of whom studied at the Paekho Institute of Architecture, North Korea’s state-run architectural college, and none of whom have ever left the country. They were asked to create a vision of North Korea’s future sustainable architecture for its expanding tourism industry. Their final products are a glimpse into what it would be like to envision the future after being entirely cut off from the present for almost 70 years. (Photo by Nick Bonner/Kyle Vanhemert/Venice Architecture Biennale)

“The Berlin Wall (German: Berliner Mauer) was a barrier constructed by the German Democratic Republic (GDR, East Germany) starting on 13 August 1961, that completely cut off West Berlin from surrounding East Germany and from East Berlin. The barrier included guard towers placed along large concrete walls, which circumscribed a wide area (later known as the “death strip”) that contained anti-vehicle trenches, “fakir beds” and other defenses. The Soviet-dominated Eastern Bloc officially claimed that the wall was erected to protect its population from fascist elements conspiring to prevent the “will of the people” in building a socialist state in East Germany. However, in practice, the Wall served to prevent the massive emigration and defection that marked Germany and the communist Eastern Bloc during the post-World War II period”. – Wikipedia

Photo: West Berlin policemen and East German Volkspolizei face each other across the border in Berlin, circa 1955. (Photo by Three Lions/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Esau the ape at the piano. (Photo by Reinhold Thiele/Topical Press Agency/Getty Images). Circa 1900

Infantrymen of the US First Army shake hands with Russian soldiers on the broken bridge over the Elbe after the link-up at Torgau, Germany. The US soldiers are (L-R): Pfc. John A Metzger, Delbert E Philpott, and Pvt. Thomas B Summers; all are from A Company, 271st Regiment. (Photo by Allan Jackson/Getty Images). 04-1945

Toyota Motor unveils a concept car the “PM”, is on display at a press preview for the Tokyo Motor Show in Makuhari, east of Tokyo October 23, 2003. PM is a single seater personal vehicle whose cabin posture changes from upright to reclined as speed increases. (Photo by Koichi Kamoshida/Getty Images)

Residents of the Korean port of Inchon surrender to American troops. (Photo by Bert Hardy/Getty Images). 1950

A giant new exhibition space created by famed graffiti artist Banksy opens to the public on May 3, 2008 in London, England. The disused tunnel beneath Waterloo station has been transformed by 30 artists from around the world. The three day event, tagged as the “Cans festival”, also invites the public to add their own stencil art. (Photo by Jim Dyson/Getty Images)

Surfer Arlen Macpherson sits on his board, which has an electronic shark repellent device installed, at Sydney's Bondi Beach in Australia, August 18, 2015. A spate of shark attacks in Australia has left some of world's top surfing beaches deserted and many people having second thoughts about taking a swim as the summer approaches. Macpherson paid A$390 for a device embedded in his surf board to repel sharks by emitting an electronic force field that overpowers its sensing organs. (Photo by David Gray/Reuters)