Text by curator Lily Fürstenow
DE
Ziel der Ausstellung ist es, das Bewusstsein für Umweltschutz, Natur und Umweltverschmutzung in öffentlichen Parks zu schärfen. Mittels künstlerischer Interventionen und Workshops erhalten die Ausstellungsbesucher und die lokale Gemeinschaft Einblicke in den nachhaltigen Umgang mit der Natur in Berlins öffentlichen Räumen. Interaktive Workshops, die am Sa. und So. 5. – 6. Juli 2025 geplant sind, laden die Besucher*innen dazu ein, den Park zu säubern, aus den gefundenen Objekten Kunstwerke zu schaffen und sich aktiv in den Prozess des Umweltschutzes auf der kommunale Ebene einzubringen. Der Park am Nordbahnhof liegt im Herzen des Bezirks Berlin-Mitte auf dem Gelände des ehemaligen Stettiner Bahnhofs – einem der wichtigsten Bahnhöfe Berlins, der während des Zweiten Weltkriegs vollständig zerstört wurde. Der Park, der aus Wiesen und mit Birken und Sträuchern bepflanzten Flächen besteht, ist als Erholungsgebiet für Jung und Alt gedacht. An den ehemaligen Stettiner Bahnhof erinnern Eisenbahnspuren, die als Gleis entlang des Hauptweges zu erkennen sind. Leider sind aufgrund des Klimawandels, z.B. Regenmangel, Berliner Wasserknappheit, große Teile des Parks ausgetrocknet. Was von der Trockenheit verschont geblieben ist, wird durch Müll wie Sprühdosen der Graffitikünstler, die die Parkmauern für ihre künstlerischen Experimente nutzen, sowie Zigarettenkippen, leere Flaschen und mehr übermäßig verschmutzt. Der Ausstellungstitel Et in Arcadia Ego bezieht sich auf Nikolas Pussin und sein gleichnamiges Gemälde, das idyllische Landschaften und Natur in Harmonie mit Hirten und mythischen Protagonisten darstellt. Auch dieser Park am Nordbahnhof sollte ursprünglich ein idyllischer Ort sein, an dem sich die Menschen erholen und die vergängliche Schönheit der Natur auf dieser symbolträchtigen Topografie eines nicht mehr existierenden Berliner Hauptbahnhofs genießen können. Unsere Aufgabe ist es, diesen Park zu retten, indem wir die Menschen mit den Mitteln der Kunst erreichen.
EN
This exhibition aims to raise awareness about environmental protection, nature and pollution prevention in public parks. By means of artistic interventions and workshops the exhibition guests and local communities will gain insights about sustainable ways of dealing with nature in Berlin’s public spaces. Interactive workshops planned on Sat. and Sun. July 5 -6th 2025 will invite participants to clean up the park area and create artworks out of the found objects as well as get actively involved into the process of environmental protection on the grass -roots levels. Park am Nordbahnhof is a park situated in the heart of the Berlin-Mitte district on the territory of the former Stettiner Bahnhof – one of the major railway stations of Berlin that was completely destroyed during the World War II. The park that consists of meadows and areas planted with birches and bushes is intended as recreation area for young and old. Railway trails that are recognisable as a track running along the main pathway commemorates the former Stettiner Bahnhof. Unfortunately due to climate change e.g. lack of rain, Berlin water shortages large areas of the park are dried out. What has been spared by the draughts is excessively polluted by rubbish like spray cans by the graffiti artists that use the park walls for their arts experiments as well as cigarette butts, empty bottles and more. The exhibition title Et in Arcadia Ego refers to Nikolas Pussin and his painting of the same title representing idyllic landscapes and nature in harmony with shepherds and mythical protagonists. This park am Nordbahnhof likewise was originally intended to be an idyllic place for folks to relax and enjoy the transient beauty of nature on this symbolic topography that used to be one of the central Berlin railway stations that exists no more. Our mission is to save this park by reaching out to people by means of art.
Participating artists:
Ae Hee Lee
Maharu Maeno
Pauline Boucan and Sandrine Mazan
Liz Dot
Simone Dubo
Rachel Harris
Sophia Melone
Paulette Penje
RDRADA
ANna Tautfest
Diana Thieme and Euan Williams
Emily Thomas
Jingwen Yao
Concepts/Workshops
AE HEE LEE
Ich plane eine interaktive Kunstinstallation mit einer goldenen Figur aus Polyester im Zentrum. Direkt darunter werde ich meine eigenen Träume in Farbe auf den Boden bringen.
Die Besucher*innen sind eingeladen, sich einen weißen Marmorkiesel zu nehmen, einen ihrer Träume darauf zu schreiben und diesen dann auf meine Arbeit zu legen.
Dazu soll ein kleines Schild aufgestellt werden mit dem Text:
Nehmen Sie einen Stein.
Erinnern Sie sich an einen Traum.
Schreiben Sie ihn auf.
Legen Sie ihn zurück.
Ich könnte auch einen Workshop anbieten, der am Sonntag stattfinden könnte. Dabei könnten wir gemeinsam unsere eigenen, interessanten Träume nachdenken und entweder mit einer eigenen Methode malen oder eine Geschichte (ein „Traumbuch“) dazu schreiben. Jeder könnte sich dabei in der hektischen Zeit etwas Zeit für sich selbst nehmen. Es wäre auch möglich, sanfte Musik laufen zu lassen, um eine meditative Atmosphäre zu schaffen.
- ANna Tautfest.
I just added this little pattern piece. I just have begun creating it and it just gives you an impression.
My idea is playing with all the trash that is flying around the park but also to include the graffitis as an art form. I would like to print out on a banner and hang it (or them) in the park. Sites could be hanging from trees and the walls.
Regarding the workshop : inside, working on collages.
I am also interested in one outside, picking trash up.
BUDGET?
2. Jingwen Yao
I visited the park with Aehee and was especially struck by the desert-like, bare patch of ground without any grass — you can see it in the attached photo. It really moved me, and I’ve been thinking about how I might contribute to bringing a bit of nature back to that area.
My current idea is to create a bee hotel using natural materials like tree bark and bamboo sticks. I’d like to shape it as an organic sculpture and place it in the center of the “desert.” Around it, I’m imagining branching patterns on the ground, made either with water or with bio gardening charcoal powder.
If there’s a nearby water source, I’d love to incorporate a simple ritual/performance during the festival — perhaps using a watering can to gently pour water and create the branching patterns, symbolically nourishing the earth. If water isn’t available, I might use charcoal powder instead to create the patterns, as it’s also regenerative for soil — though that option would be more costly. I would need to buy a lot of charcoal powder then.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on the concept overall. Would it be possible to install a bee hotel in that space? I may need to dig into the ground to stabilize the wood sticks — would that be permitted? Also, do you know if there’s a water source nearby? And is there any financial support available for purchasing materials like the charcoal powder?
3. Artist duo. Pauline Boucan/Sandrine Mazan
By R.Drada
Title: “Litter Shall Inherit The Earth”
Details:
Installation of 5-6 Abstract Printed Flags, in Nordbahnhof Park Location: Flexible Location, Any Location is Possible Within Park Dimensions: 5-6 Flags, either 30 x 45 cm or larger on 1.5m poles.
New Ways to Visualize the Impact of Social Ills: Litter
I would love to create a workshop that experiments with thinking of ways each participant wants to imagine the impacts of litter. Participants will be provided with suggested facts that they may like to experiment with visualizing. Discussion will be designed to facilitate and discover what each participant subjectively believes is a visually compelling way to illustrate that fact, that highlights the consequences of littering/pollution. By demonstration, I can suggest different visual elements that I find compelling, but I will emphasize that participants should trust what their own feelings tell them about visual elements.
Supplies:
- – Printouts showing Prior Art Projects, such as Pollutive Ends, which demonstrated theimpact of one cigarette butt’s impact on water in a visually commanding way.https://thijsbiersteker.com/pollutive-ends
- – Printout of suggested facts that participants can illustrate
- – Markers, Acrylic Paints
- – Mixed Media Paper
- – Old Magazines for Collage
- – I can provide my graphic design book for further visual inspiration.Time/Date: Saturday Afternoon, preferably. Timing Flexible. Duration: 1 hour
5. MAHARU MAENO
I’m excited about the opportunity to exhibit in the park, particularly using the leftover spray canisters. My proposal is to create an interactive piece inspired by Connect 4. The structure would be double-sided: one side featuring an image created from the colours of the spray can tops, and the other functioning as a game board where people can either play or use the canisters to make their own images.
I’m also interested in exploring multiple versions of the piece, possibly experimenting with different forms beyond a flat wall. Ideally, I’d like to melt down existing canisters to create the flat surfaces – I’ll be speaking with the metal technicians on Friday to explore what’s possible. I’ll also look into other suitable materials and production costs. Do you have any updates yet on funding for expenses or an artist honorarium?
One practical question – would it be possible to drill into the park grounds to secure a structure like this?
I’ll be in Berlin on 31 May and look forward to getting a better sense of the space in person. From the photos you sent and my memory of the park, the open area near the stones seems like a great potential location.
8.
Lizeth Rodríguez (Dot), creative director, artist and illustrator, experiments with various media and techniques. My path in the ceramic environment began ten years ago in Mexico City, where I had the opportunity to learn the basics of this art at the Mono Rojo and work next to great artist and friends.
In the year 2023, I arrived in Berlin, where I started my home studio where I continue to explore ceramic art as a medium for narrative, tradition and creative expression.
In my creative process, I am inspired by archaeological ceramics, as well as by nature and design, elements that give form to our cultural and personal memories.
When sharing ceramic workshops, my main goal is to develop the visual expression of the attendees. To this end, I offer guidance through teaching experimentation in form and hand-building techniques. At the same time, I explore the possibilities of the relationship between the human being and the material as a natural and ancestral medium.
RACHEL HARRIS
Artist Biographies:
Jingwen Yao
Jingwen Yao (b. 1990, Beijing, China) is a Berlin-based multidisciplinary visual artist whose practice centers on environmental and social issues. Working primarily in painting and installation, her work draws from lived experiences across Asia, Europe, and Africa to address themes such as climate change, inequality, and migration.
In 2020, she created a 12-meter-long banner in Suderbyn Ecovillage, Gotland, Sweden, as an act of art activism, delivering the message “Make gardens, not war” to a nearby military base.
Since relocating to Berlin in 2021, Yao has exhibited in various project spaces and galleries. Her work was featured in Berlin Tagesspiegel in connection with the 2023 group exhibition Contemporary Positions on Portraiture, presented by 2Chairs e.V.
In 2025, Yao was selected to exhibit in the HVB KunstCUBEs at HypoVereinsbank Berlin—a year-long program funded by UniCredit that supports emerging artists by showcasing their work in a public, high-visibility space.
AE HEE LEE
| Lives and works in Berlin and Seoul | |
| 2006 | Kyungwon University of Art (BA), South Korea |
| 2011 | Braunschweig University of Art (Diplom), Germany |
Scholarships
| 2016 | ZONTA-ArtPrize, Germany |
| 2011 | DAAD Scholarship, Germany |
| 2005 | Kyungwon University Scholarship, South Korea |
Paula Carralero Bierzynska
Paula Carralero Bierzynska was born in Madrid in 1991 and grew up in Pamplona, near the Pyrenees. She studied translation in Madrid, Leipzig and Montreal with the Excellence Scholarship of the Comunidad de Madrid, the Erasmus Scholarship and the Mobilidad Internacional Scholarship. After working in Mexico City, she moved to Berlin in 2013, where she studied painting with Nader Ahriman at the Kunsthochschule Weißensee in Berlin from 2013 to 2020 as a diploma and masters student.
During her studies, she exhibited at Haus des Berliner Rundfunks, Projektraum Bethanien, Neukölln Arkaden, Bar Babette, Brandenburgischer Kunstverein, Kunstverein Uelzen, Kühlhaus Berlin, and also internationally at Muzeum Woli in Warsaw, La Ciudadela and Centro Huarte in Pamplona, and Sala Pérez de la Riva in Madrid in Spain. She has also been awarded the Mart Stam Stipendium, the Mart Stam Prize, the Mittenmang Project Grant, and the Premio Encuentros Arte Joven. Her artist books have been presented at the Berlin Art Book Fair at Hamburger Bahnhof and the Missread Art Book Fair at the Akademie der Künste. In addition, her work was published by Textem Verlag in 2016.
After graduating, she received the Neustart Kultur scholarship (2020), the Kickstarter grant for graduates of state art colleges from the Stiftung Kunstfonds (2022), and the bridge scholarship for entry into doctoral studies from Bauhaus Universität Weimar (2023). She was also nominated for the Young Art Award and the Art Award Germany (2021) and received the studio grant of the Kulturwerk bbk Berlin (since 2021). She participated in residencies at Begehungen, Chemnitz; Centro Huarte, Pamplona, Spain (both 2021); Künstlerhaus Edenkoben and at the Powidoki, Kaliska, Poland (both 2022). Her first solo exhibition was held at weisser elefant gallery in Berlin (2021). Other exhibitions have also been held at Rathaus-Galerie Reinickendorf, Galerie Ebensperger with Radio Cashmere, Lage Egal, Kino Krokodil, Spoiler, Volkssolidarität Mitte, Galerie Parterre at Kunstverein Neukölln and Atelieretage AR29 in Berlin, Kunstverein Marburg, Galerie Depelmann (Hannover), Güterbahnhof Altendorf (Chemnitz), Galerie das Gute Leben (Kandel, Rhineland-Palatinate), Biels (St. Gillis Waas, Belgium), at the town hall in Kaliska (Poland), and at the PHuN Symposium (Arizona, United States). In 2023, she realised an installation for the Soteria at St. Hedwig Hospital in Berlin. In 2024, she had a solo exhibition at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development. Further exhibitions are planned the Retramp Gallery in Berlin, in Beratungscenter der Sparkasse Gera-Greiz in Gera and Autokonzern in Berlin.
ARTIST DUO
Pauline Boucan / Sandrine Mazan
Trained in product design at the National Decorative Art School of Paris (ENSAD, 2013), I began my career at Lidewij Edelkoort’s trend forecasting studio in Paris, focusing on colour and materials. An exchange semester at Berlin’s University of the Arts (UdK) led me to collaborate with Judith Seng on an exhibition-performance project, and later with the Llottlov Agency, exploring dying techniques on wood.
Based in Berlin since then, I have worked as a freelance designer across various mediums—from concrete to concept—while gradually carving out a more personal, intuitive practice. In response to a need for creative freedom, I founded my label @Studiosandrinemazan, where I experiment across painting, product design, poetry, and fashion.
My education at E.N.S.A.D and UdK shaped my multidisciplinary approach and a process-driven methodology, while my practice continues to be guided by spontaneity, material exploration, and the search for sensibility beyond order. I am currently continuing my artistic development through a program at Kunstschule Berlin, a contemporary art school focused on visual arts.
Pauline Boucan
In my practice, I draw inspiration from nature and focus on topics such as grief, loss, and ends and beginnings as in the experience of transformation. However, it is important to me in my work to move away from a human-centric representation, which is why I rather depict a non-human world in which there are only forms and hybrid figures evolving, inspired by our fauna and flora.
Nature has this amazing power of regeneration, therefore I like to think about these hybrid beings transforming in this moving environment and coexisting with this living system. Their interactions operate in imaginary landscapes in which abstraction and figuration intermingle, inspired by our surrounding nature.
Transformation however is also to me, questioning what sustainability in art means. This is why I also like to work with clay as a true living material. Working with raw, unfired clay, means that it is infinitely recyclable. In this time where it becomes more and more urgent and important to think and care about the environment, those questions in art are essential.
R.Drada (b.1986) is an Asian-American artist based in Berlin, Germany. R.Drada was trained at the Art Students League of New York. The works of R.Drada have been published in Horizon Magazine, The Purposeful Mayonnaise and other publications. R.Drada has exhibited her works in New York City, Berlin, Seoul and London.
R.Drada provides a visual image for the life of ideals as they endure frustrations with the common corruptions of regular life, with special focus on how the ideals such as freedom and decency can suffer within the cauldron of American culture. The artist strongly believes that considering and reflecting upon the turmoil of an absurd world are important steps on the path to accepting the brutal and bizarre nature of human society. R.Drada uses bright colors to signify the intense positivity of American culture, as well as raw, furious strokes to demonstrate anger and frustration. Common themes that appear in her works are: greed, conflict, rebellion and anger.
R.Drada creates images that can speak to conflicts between the individual seeking ideals vs. a larger system or culture. Crafting images that capture intensely-held feelings is both a relief for the sympathetic viewer & the artist but also provides reinforcement of the importance and dignity of these emotions, which is vital for rehumanizing oneself in a vastly dehumanizing world. In unveiling ones’ emotions before oneself, one can finally view these emotions as just another fact of life, in the spirit of distance and acceptance.
Maharu Maeno
Maharu Maeno is a interdisciplinary artist and performer based in Chiba & Berlin. Her work focuses on perceiving living organisms as processes rather than objects, creating performance plant sculptures with living moss and bamboos. She also creates interactive stage pieces that visualize the movement of flora and fauna using digital technology, based on scientific insights from interviews with arborists and scientists. Her works have been exhibited at Chiba Prefectural Museum of Art (2025, Chiba), Bauhaus Archive “hands on nails we are open” (2024, Berlin) and Culterim gallery “Moss Nail”(2023, Berlin) .
ARTWORKS
Exhibition
2025 Artist Follow-up Phase 1 Exhibition, Chiba Prefectural Museum of Art / Chiba, Japan
2024 hands on nails we are open, Bauhaus Archive “Moss Nail”/ Berlin, Germany
2023 Yohas art night, Chiba Park “Post-Christmas”/ Chiba, Japan
2023 WAS MACHEN SIE JETZT?!?, Culterim gallery “Moss Nail”/ Berlin, Germany
2023 MEIN KÖRPER MEIN CAPITOL, “Sumo wrestler business women”/ Berlin, Germany
2023 Xposures, Schwartzschen Villa “Instant Wander vo gel”/ Berlin, Germany
2022 Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennale 2022, “We like to watch the clumsy-seeming mountains”
/ Niigata, Japan
Performance
2024 hands on nails we are open, Bauhaus Archive “Moss Nail”/ Berlin, Germany
2023 WAS MACHEN SIE JETZT?!?, Culterim gallery “Moss Nail”/ Berlin, Germany
2022 Asian Performing Artists Lab – AMNASIA.4, “Soil Memory” / Berlin Germany
2022 Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennale 2022 “Turn Off the House Lights”/ Niigata, Japan
2022 “Turn Off the House Lights” / Berlin, Germany
2022 “First Touch” Honoruru / Nantes, France
2021 “Dancing with Chickens” Himukai Jingu Shrine / Kyoto, Japan
2020 Tobitate Cultural Festival “Kasumi-ka Kumo-ka” / Tokyo, Japan
2019 “RedHook Horror Lemonade” De-Construkt / New York, USA
2019 FIGMENT NYC “Museum of Make-up Art (MoMA)” / New York, USA
2016 Immigration Museum Tokyo “The Alley Theater Club” / Tokyo, Japan
2015 Galaxcity “Marry Me!” / Tokyo, Japan
EDUCATION
2021 – 2023
M. A., Spatial Strategies, Weißensee Kunsthochschule Berlin (Berlin, Germany)
2014 – 2020
B. A., Musical Creativity and the Environment, Tokyo University of the Arts (Tokyo, Japan)
AWARDS AND GRANTS
2025 Artist Follow-up / Chiba Prefecture
2022 Mart Stam-Stipendium / Deutschlandstipendium
2019 German Haiku Contest at Kyoto Women’s University
2019 Acknowledgement Financial Aid Award
2018 Japan Public-Private Partnership Student Study Abroad Program
2018 Egashira Hospitality Foundation Scholarship
Emily Thomas
(b. 1996, Yeovil UK)
Emily Thomas is an emerging visual artist & woodworker based in Berlin. From the Saatchi Gallery London to Soulangh Cultural Park in Taiwan, Emily has been sharing her work globally since graduating from the University of Arts London in 2018.
Her roots lie in a rural UK village with just 300 residents, which ultimately sparked her interest in the concept of place. Growing up amidst ongoing construction in her family home, where her parents personally undertook the building, she cultivated a passion for hands-on work. This also fuels her artistic exploration of alternative ways of living, examining how different housing structures reflect & shape communities.
Emily’s exhibitions span prestigious locations worldwide, with projects supported by notable institutions such as the European Cultural Foundation, Stiftung Kunstfonds, & Arts Council England. These experiences not only fuel her creativity, but also emphasise the meaningful connections her art forges across different cultures & spaces.
LIZ DOT
Lizeth Rodríguez (Dot), creative director, artist and illustrator, experiments with various media and techniques. My path in the ceramic environment began ten years ago in Mexico City, where I had the opportunity to learn the basics of this art at the Mono Rojo and work next to great artist and friends.
In the year 2023, I arrived in Berlin, where I started my home studio where I continue to explore ceramic art as a medium for narrative, tradition and creative expression.
In my creative process, I am inspired by archaeological ceramics, as well as by nature and design, elements that give form to our cultural and personal memories.
When sharing ceramic workshops, my main goal is to develop the visual expression of the attendees. To this end, I offer guidance through teaching experimentation in form and hand-building techniques. At the same time, I explore the possibilities of the relationship between the human being and the material as a natural and ancestral medium.
Artist Bio
Rachel Harris (b. 1991) is a Berlin-based transdisciplinary Canadian artist fluidly transitioning between painting, sculpture, installation, performance, and land art. Harris holds a BFA in Drawing and Painting from Ontario College of Art and Design University. She has participated in international residencies such as Enclave Land Art (Vall de Gallinera, ES), Bauhaus Bavaria (Breitenberg, DE), Terraformation (Sicily, IT) and in 2023-2024 she received the Deutsche Bank Macht Kunst Stipend. Her work focuses on ecology, community, and rethinking the way in which we consider the natural world in order to illuminate how nature itself is intertwined into our being.
THIEME / WILLIAMS ARTIST DUO
SIMONE DUBOS
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