This abandoned place was once full of life: people came and went, celebrated, loved, argued, and dreamed. The rooms still carry these invisible stories within them.
Across 9 levels, 15 international artists create light and sound installations. The works tell stories that would otherwise remain hidden – themes we miss and that our society seems to overlook. These will astonish, sometimes confuse, and inspire courage.
The hotel becomes a time capsule. The silent corridors, with their thick, worn carpets, muffle footsteps, allowing visitors to glide almost silently through the deserted hallways. The darkness sharpens the senses. Without clear orientation, guests explore the levels, repeatedly discovering hidden rooms containing audiovisual installations. Most of the works are premieres and are being shown in Berlin for the first time.
This is the last chance to explore the old hotel: The building will be demolished shortly after.
Rabih Mroué | Yasuhiro Chida | Kristof Kintera | Wiebke Maria Wachmann | Jin Lee | Studio Sven Sauer | kling klang klong & schnelle bunte bilder | Ausgang Studio | Marco Barotti | Vincent Rang | Markus Graf | Lumus Instruments | Florian Basche, Bastian Kopf & Artists without names
In a dark tower, mighty storms and raging seas are brought to life.
Boris Acket creates installations that simulate natural phenomena: we hear the rustling of the wind but see 49 servomotors moving in the space.
We are all influenced by nature. Every day. Even our mood depends on it.
However, nature is gradually disappearing from our world. Concrete is taking its place, and displays create a longing for a substitute nature: "The perfect sunset" or "a sparkling sunbeam hitting the water's surface."
Across 6 dark floors, Boris Acket reveals how quickly we settle for an illusion of nature.
In his works, he exposes our complete ambivalence towards nature: longing, fascination, strength, but also powerlessness.
The exhibition is a journey around the world!
The works were created all over the world: Mexico City, Sydney, New York, Milan, Madrid, Amsterdam, and Zurich.
For the first time, the artist is showcasing all installations in a single location in Berlin.
In collaboration with 12 international artists, sound and light installations that create their own weather system were developed in the 120-year-old tower. The artworks react to each other.
No installation ever behaves the same way.
All guests enter the exhibition through a black passage. This darkness serves an important purpose: it cleanses our senses of chaotic everyday impressions.
Stay as long as you like!
Each guest receives a yoga mat, allowing everyone to find their own spot among the hypnotic artworks.
The estimated duration of stay is approximately 2 hours... or longer.
by Boris Acket in collaboration with 12 international artists
Creative Direction — Boris Acket
Creative Coding — Coco Schneider
Sound Design & Engine — kling klang klong
Creative Direction, Software — Boris Acket
Creative Direction — studio Dennis Vanderbroeck
Engineering — Merijn Versnel
Original music — Pink Oculus
Sculpture — Samuel Dejong
Sound — Steve Rachmad
Creative Direction, Software — Boris Acket
Creative Direction — Joep Beving
Music & Sound — Maarten Vos & Joep Beving
Engineering — Merijn Versnel
Creative Direction — Boris Acket
Mirror design — Sabine Marcelis
Engineering — Merijn Versnel
Sound — Spekki Webu
Berlin never rests. The past two years have felt like an ever-accelerating carousel. This is where the exhibition “The Dark Rooms Vertical” comes in: In our vibrant metropolis, peace and time seem to be becoming privileges. Let's turn off the lights. Darkness sharpens the senses. Through it, we become invisible observers.
“The Dark Rooms” was first shown in 2016 in the abandoned towers of the Willner Brewery.
The exhibition now returned to an old 20th-century automobile factory.
The Location:
The location was unexpected and completely different from “Himmel unter Berlin” — with abandoned old columned halls and room-sized rusty steel basins. The tower is considered a 'monument of Berlin's industrial culture' and was the tallest building in Germany upon its completion.
Most of the building had previously been closed to the public. For visitors, the exhibition was the last chance to explore the historic building. A few days after the exhibition, the area was closed for several years for renovation work.
Seçkin Aydın is an artist and academic whose work focuses on Degrowth theory, decolonialism, postcolonialism, and slow violence. He has held numerous solo exhibitions, participated in biennials and symposia, and curated exhibitions across Europe and the Middle East.
Philip Vermeulen is an artist based in The Hague whose large-scale installations are part of his research into Zero Art, sound art, kinetic art, and audiovisual art. Vermeulen is best known for his large-scale kinetic installations. He manipulates natural primary phenomena such as light, sound, and movement, and relentlessly explores the shifts in psychological states of being.
In Hanna Antonsson's works, the encounter and contrast between animal and machine play an important role. The wings of animals found dead, prepared by Antonsson, are artificially brought back to life and mounted onto the very objects that ended the birds' lives. Collision is a natural theme in her work. Hanna Antonsson's works have been exhibited in numerous exhibitions worldwide.
Since 2013, he has worked as a freelance artist in Berlin. In his large-scale installations, he explores the transformation of truth and personal perspectives on it. His series KAMI, which was exhibited in 2018 at Dresden's Neumarkt, won the audience award in 2019 at 'Die Blaue Nacht' in Nuremberg. He is the founder of '360 minutes Art' and, together with Clara Sauer, initiated the exhibition series 'The Dark Rooms Exhibition', the 'LOST Art Festival', and now also 'Himmel unter Berlin'.
Marco Barotti uses multimedia to engage with urban and natural sound sources. His works explore the transformation of these acoustic elements and their environment, which he translates into sculptural forms that, in turn, come "alive" through sound transformation. Through these interventions, Barotti aims to influence and challenge human perception of daily routines. His works have been exhibited internationally at venues such as Ars Electronica (Linz), the Saatchi Gallery (London), Futurium (Berlin), Platoon (Mexico City), among others.
Lumus Instruments is a multidisciplinary studio that works with light, sound, and structure in various forms of installation art and scenography. They design the physicality of sophisticated digital systems and explore how these systems influence our perception of space and time. Over the years, Lumus Instruments' work has found its way into a variety of contexts, ranging from digital art exhibitions, concerts, and festivals to activations for brands and public spaces.
Kling Klang Klong is a creative studio specializing in sound.
Through their sound-based narratives, the collective explores natural phenomena and societal issues.
Using cutting-edge technologies, the studio makes these accessible to the audience as immersive soundscapes.
Kling Klang Klong's works are exhibited internationally in art spaces, museums, and at events.
Boris Acket translates conceptual ideas into immersive, multi-sensory experiences: technology, space, light, and sound form a prism through which specific themes or objects are explored and rematerialized.
His works and performances have been presented at venues including NXT Museuris zeim, De School, Lowlands Festival, Het Hem, STRP, Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ, Van Gogh Museum, Frame Lab & DGTL Festival.
David Bowen is known for his kinetic sculptures, which are driven by real-world data from natural phenomena.
David Bowen's work has been featured in numerous group and solo exhibitions, including ZKM Karlsruhe, Eyebeam New York, Ars Electronica Linz, The Israel Museum Jerusalem, and many more. He has received many awards, an honorary mention from Ars Electronica, and third prize in the international Vida Art and Artificial Life competition.
NONOTAK is a duo founded in late 2011 by former visual artist Noemi Schipfer and former architect and musician Takami Nakamoto. NONOTAK works with light and sound installations and performances to create ethereal and dreamlike environments that envelop and mesmerize viewers. Nonotak's aesthetic is inspired by minimalist architecture and optical art.
Sizhu Li is a Chinese-born kinetic installation artist based in New York. Having lived and worked on two different continents, Li has developed a unique visual language of immersive kinetic art to illustrate her understanding of human nature and the universe. Li has exhibited her works at the Staten Island Museum, the Attleboro Arts Museum, Spring/Break, Flux Factory, Baltimore-Washington International Airport, Chashama Gallery, and many more.
