RAL
2017–2018
The RAL series consists of standard colors of the Reichsausschuss für Lieferbedingungen (Committee for Delivery Conditions) for the military, industry and the German state, painted on aluminum panels. Each RAL color was created for a specific purpose. In the series, they are combined into color groups accordingly. Depending on the ambient light, the paint colors change their color impression.
Some of the colors still in use today date back to the times of the First and Second World Wars. Their history of use is mostly unexplored.
Selected Works
Installation Views
Texts on the Series
Conversation accompanying the exhibitions Edition #5 and Epilogue at Haunt Berlin.
Harald F. Theiss, 2021
Conversation with curator Harald F. Theiss about Carsten Becker’s series RAL and DIN. The discussion reveals how Becker uses historical color standards and standardized industrial objects to uncover layers of function, familial resonance, and political ambiguity—from camouflage tones to everyday items with unexpected charge—and how this research culminates in his precise photographic still lifes.
Trauma Through Time
Interview with Ina Filla
Ina Filla, 2019
The interview with neuroscientist Ina Filla, PhD, explores the concept of transgenerational trauma, focusing especially on the Holocaust. It explains how traumatic experiences can be transmitted across generations through epigenetic mechanisms, socialization, and bonding. Filla outlines the biological basis of these transmission pathways based on current research, including animal studies, and discusses the complex psychological and societal impacts of inherited trauma.
Forgotten Colors
Philipp Hindahl, 2018
Utility objects do not come by their colors randomly, they are chosen according to standards. In Germany, the RAL standard sets the norm, a collection of colors that meets the requirements of public authorities, the military and industry. In his work, artist Carsten Becker is concerned with the gaps and continuities in this collection. It displays a microcosm of German history.



















