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Hidden Realities

March 16 - June 15, 2025

Collective Artistic Explorations

With Animal Architecture Collective (Cardoso Studio, Feral Partnerships, Jennifer Turpin), Imperfect Futures (Naadira Patel, Manijeh Verghese, Sarah de Villiers, Zen Marie, as well as external collaborators: Madeleine Amsler und Alice Clancy), MOTHS (Yujia Bian, Niel de Vries, Hanwen Zhang, Xiaolu Yan)
 

The exhibition Hidden Realities showcases the results of the first three residencies that Spreepark Art Space awarded to interdisciplinary and international artist groups since 2024. The exhibition lends insight into the three-month research programmes of Animal Architecture Collective, Imperfect Futures and MOTHS. Each group addresses key spatial, ecological, and social issues through exploring the topics of nature and architecture, present and future, and food culture within the context of the former amusement park.

Animal Architecture Collective

Animal Architecture Collective (Cardoso Studio, Feral Partnerships, Jennifer Turpin) investigates the architectural strategies of non-human creatures and explores the insights that humans can gain from these building forms. Inspired by the constructions of ants, bees, birds and small mammals, the exhibition employs a video work alongside a 3D printed facsimile of a harvester ant nest, and AI “hallucinations” of animal architecture to illuminate the interactions between nature and architecture, demonstrating new perspectives in sustainable building practices and the coexistence of humans and nature.

 

Imperfect Futures

Imperfect Futures (Naadira Patel, Sarah de Villiers, Manijeh Verghese, Zen Marie, with external collaborators Madeleine Amsler and Alice Clancy) explore the past, present, and future of Spreepark, investigating themes of continuity, futurity, and time. Focusing on the park’s exterior fence as a central site, the group examines how this infrastructure has shaped narratives, myths, and the public's imagination of the park throughout its history. The project presents a series of explorations—through installation, film, zines, performances, and interventions on the fence - to prompt conversations about sustainability, access and the multiple futures the park might hold.

 

MOTHS

The collective MOTHS (Yujia Bian, Niel de Vries, Xiaolu Yan, Hanwen Zhang) focuses on the food culture of the Spreepark and takes this as a starting point for exploring the history, present, and future of the site. Inspired by archive images showing visitors eating together at kiosks and at the former restaurant ‘Spezi’, the group developed a speculative menu and a collection of dinnerware. With these works, they thematise social, ecological, and technological issues of the Spreepark while blurring the boundaries between reality and fiction in order to open up new perspectives on the park and its development.

 

Curated by Katja Aßmann

Concept and Production: Temitayo Oni, Michelle Chen, Nina Sperling | Programme: Jenny Sréter, Temitayo Oni, Nicolle Banús | Communication: Anja Klaus | Text and Editing: Temitayo Oni, Anja Klaus, Nina Sperling | Graphics: Julia Neller | Exhibition construction: EMArt | Welcome team: Heidi Kirk, Carolin Meyer, Sonja Schmidt

Animal Architecture Collective, The Hallucinating Atlas of Animal Architecture, 2025, Installation view, Photo Frank Sperling
Animal Architecture Collective, Harvester Ant Nest Facsimile, 2025, Installation view, Photo Frank Sperling
Animal Architecture Collective, Exhibition view, Photo Frank Sperling
Imperfect Futures, Conversations on the Fence, 2025, Installation view, Photo Frank Sperling
Imperfect Futures, The Park is waiting, The Park is coming, HD Video, 2025, Installation view, Photo Frank Sperling
Imperfect Futures, The World Beyond the Fence, Zine, 2025, Installation view, Photo Frank Sperling
MOTHS, The Menu, Ceramic sculptures, various sizes, 2025, Installation view, Photo Frank Sperling
MOTHS, The Menu, Ceramic sculptures, Neobiota Muster, Porcelain tableware, 2025, Installation view, Photo Frank Sperling
Hidden Realities, Exhibition view, Photo: Frank Sperling

Opening of the Exhibition on March 16