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Lurker Grand

Lurker Grand is author and publisher of the City in Space: Barcelona and City in Space: Berlin books. These two works focus on the architecture and interior design of buildings and places in Barcelona and Berlin from the 1950s through the 1970s. The Barcelona book was published in 2001 and under the chapter "Polynesian Bars", four Tiki Bars from the 1970s are portrayed that have survived to-date.

From the mid-1970's, Lurker Grand has also been a regular guest in the Kon-Tiki Bar in Zurich, Switzerland (founded in 1955). During this time, it was a place where the newly emerging music and art avantgarde - the first generation Punk and New Wave scene - congregated.

In the 1980s, Lurker Grand resided in New York City where his love for Exotica music and Roadside locations led him to discover the American Tiki culture. In 2000, together with Klang und Kleid, he created the website www.alohawaii.de making it possible to order the Spanish Tiki mugs from Pavon. In 2002, Grand helped to design a small Tiki Bar for the Club Remise in Switzerland and, from then on, began dividing his engagements between Berlin and Switzerland. He also built up and performed many operational functions for the Tabou Tiki Room, a Tiki Bar in Berlin that unfortunately had to close down in the end of 2006.

In September 2007, Lurker Grand organized the Tiki Modern tour with Sven Kirsten and Jochen Hirschfeld and highlighting Tiki culture through size and depth that has never before been seen within German-speaking areas. All in all, there were five consecutive Tiki events in Hamburg, Berlin, Munich, Zurich and St.Gallen.

Lurker Grand

Sven Kirsten

Sven Kirsten was born in 1955 in the port town of Hamburg, Germany. The sailor's bars of the Reeperbahn red light district and the curiosities of the Hamburg Anthropology Museum formed the fertile soil to inspire Sven to follow the call to other distant shores in 1980. Over the last ten years he has photographed and collected the remnants of the vanishing Tiki cult in America. In 2000, Sven published his collection, and the Book of Tiki instantly became known as a bible for Tiki lovers worldwide. In 2007 followed his second book Tiki Modern published by Taschen Verlag. Sven became interested in the Spanish tiki culture of the 70’s, and is now looking for any information, especially about Tiki bars in Spain that no longer exist, such as: Artifacts, photographs, newspaper articles, advertising material of any kind, etc. We hope that through www.tikieurope.com we can reach Spanish Tiki fans. You can contact Sven Kirsten through his e-mail address, sventiki@aol.com.

Sven Kirsten

Kai Sarnes

2001 Kai Sarnes a.k.a. Haikai had his first contact with the subject Tiki when he discovered Sven A. Kirsten's "The Book of Tiki". In the following years he started first Tiki studies and carving works. 2005 he did not only a travelling exhibition featuring his sculptures in cooperation with WESC-store, but he also founded, in collaboration with Michael Hanauer, the first european platform for Tiki art and Polynesian Pop, www.forbidden-paradise.com, which is still, thanks to his great engagement, doing a great job in forming a Tiki-community and assisting the Tiki-culture.

In 2007 he decorated the Tiki-Bar at the Surfhostel on Rügen with his enormous Tiki-sculptures and accompanied the European Tiki Modern Tour, featuring Sven A. Kirsten and the premiere of "Armchair Travelling", with his sculptures, live carvings and an information stand across Munich, Zurich, and St. Gallen.

Through the last years he presented his works at international events like the London Luau Artshow (UK), Hangar Rockin' (CH), Swing and Sway in Hawaii (D), The Road Devils Hot Rod & Artshow (D), Surfin' Chrome Spectacle (CH) and the Surfbeat Artshow (USA). Nowadays, Haikai's sculptures can be found all across Europe, from Switzerland and Austria to the East- and Northsea, as well as in the USA.

Kai Sarnes

Óscar Mariscal

Óscar Mariscal is a freelance journalist and author. He is interested in almost all expressions of popular Culture and collector and expert on science fiction literature from 1925 to 1955. He wrote a book that is ready to print on the issue of American magazines, called "Amazing Stories in 30 years". His first contact with the lounge culture was carried out by the "space music" from Juan Garcia Esquivel and Les Baxter. By this he was necessarily linked to the Tiki culture. He wrote to this issue several articles like "Afro Disia Co.Cocktail & Club" for Love Craft Magazines and "Tiki Way of Life" for Freek! Magazine(both published in Spain); currently he writes for the german OX-Fanzine No 79 and 81 about Tiki culture next to Sven Kirsten, Mortiz R and Lurker Grand.

He is to refined serious during the day to be a tie bearing professional. But during nigth he is a passionate admirer, which in his interior bears to light in order to Cocktail secrets of high art and he will participate in any Artifacts (works) in connection to exotic kitsch of the 60s and 70 years, that call from the oblivion back into memory.

Oscar Mariscal