Between Boundaries - reflecting on Berlin
In June 2024, I had the privilege of participating in the international group exhibition Between Boundaries in Berlin as part of the 48 Stunden Neukölln Festival. The exhibition invited artists to create works that responded, through various mechanisms of transformation, to one another’s processes, the collective dialogue, or the physical space of the gallery itself.
For me, the Kunsthalle m3 gallery was particularly inspiring. Built on the former Berlin Wall, the site embodies layers of history that mirror my own preoccupations with resilience and transformation - shifting over time from industrial production to an artist-run space, and eventually to high-end residential apartments. The m3 gallery, preserved within the original carriage house thanks to Thomas Henriksson, remains known for its experimental exhibitions, collaborative showcases, and for launching the careers of many established artists.
Inspired by the notion of devouring capitalism that consumes artist spaces and by how art, like nature, inevitably adapts, reclaims, and reshapes its environment, I created three site-specific works within the gallery. Each explored ideas of organic and artistic reclamation, held in a kind of eerie, otherworldly suspension intended for viewer interaction:
1. Nest-like forms emerged along the gallery wall, crafted from plaster and filled with pools of black wax - smooth surfaces that felt both inviting and unsettling.
2. A fleshy growth appeared in the corner of the room, its vein-like patterns painted across the wall and “oozing” from a rib-like scaffolding of latex, tape, paint, and Vaseline. This piece drew inspiration from Marcus Haas’s mural at Bernauer Strasse.
3. A half-erased trace of street art marked a window - crudely cleaned until only one red, defiant eye remained - created with chalk paint and window cleaner to evoke the haunting persistence of expression.
The opening was vibrant and intimate, as each artist shared insights about their process and exchanged reflections with the audience.
I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to the Berlin University of the Arts (UdK) for this incredible opportunity.
Georgie Stokol’s exhibition at Kunsthalle m3 gallery, Neukölln, Berlin (June, 2024)