The residency at Künstlerhaus Bethanien broadened my artistic view, deepened my practice, and provided valuable opportunities for exchange with international artists. Through focused observation, I articulated my own interpretation of Berlin’s cultural landscape, which opened up possibilities for new dialogues with the city. The institution organizes a range of site visits from time to time, and it encourages resident artists to propose outreach. This has been immensely helpful for developing and promoting artistic projects. As a result, I had the pleasure of connecting with other professionals. I also participated in events such as Transmediale and Gallery Weekend Berlin and quickly learned about the local art scene.

In my solo exhibition in April, I presented Hole Dream, a work reflecting fragmented memories of Berlin’s urban landscape. For Berliners, holes, cracks, and discarded objects on the street are part of their everyday environment, and these became central to my work. The fractures and holes in the city seem deeply embedded in daily life, affecting my perceptions. Additionally, walking through Berlin, I often glimpsed people’s lives through residential windows. It dawned on me that the boundary between public and private domains can be blurred in such a way. These experiences inspired me to collect and reassemble images of the city’s memoryscape and display them in a semi-open showcase. By breaking down the boundary between exterior and interior space, I aimed to reveal the gradual transformation of a city’s form and structure.

The “skin” of Berlin feels as if it is being stretched, hardened, cracked, bleeding, and slowly scabbing over. Fracture is not mere destruction; it can be a chance for reconstruction, repair, and a renewed way of seeing the world. Compared to the rapidly developing cities in Taiwan, Berlin tends to preserve its old buildings and green spaces, and its residents show a deep respect for historical objects and public spaces. This cultural attitude became a key source of inspiration for me. Through Hole Dream, I hope viewers can feel the culture and emotion in a city’s transformation and reconsider the stories and memories in everyday detail. My residency in Berlin allowed me to deeply explore the close relationship between urban life and artistic practice, prompting further reflection on human living and the evolution of cities.

Author: Chen Chia-yi
Edited: Brix