Even Goethe praised the health-promoting effects of the potato.

Our exhibition “The Potato Project” in the Historic Cellar now shows the perspective of the two - much younger - artists Eva Pedroza and Paul Wiersbinski on a remarkable nightshade crop and traces its significance on various levels. We are particularly pleased about the recently published catalog accompanying the exhibition and would like to present it to the public. It contains texts by Maj Smoszna (@majsmoszna) and Po:era (@poeracollective), among others. 

You are cordially invited! Potato chips and cold drinks will also be available. 

The evening will be framed by Tania Elstermeyer (@taniaelstermeyer) with a performance concert using potatoes.

We would also like to congratulate Eva Pedroza and Fanny Sorgo on being nominated for the German Short Film Award on November 21 in the category “Animated film up to 30 min” with their film “Tako Tsubo”. We keep our fingers crossed!

The view of the human body as something that we simply have and are is usually suppressed in favour of the idea of what bodies are capable of doing or what they can become. Once brought over from South America, potatoes found their way into our bodies and into our myths. They thus became a part of us and a central component of our culture. Because we follow our elementary need for food, but also social narratives. Because we are hungry, but also without any order or control - just pure devotion.

The potato, the tuberous vegetable of South American origin, was stored in (historical) cellars. It fed the population, but also triggered famines and is regarded as a symbol of vegetable energy. In our part of the world, it is so historically significant that it has contributed to the formation of identity. Numerous monuments have been erected to it.

In their exhibition ‘The Potato Project’, Eva Pedroza (*1982) and Paul Wiersbinski (*1983) want to use the nightshade plant mentioned in the title to reflect on models of origin, humanity, myth, machines and plant life in a site-specific multimedia installation. Categories that are themselves in a constant process of growth and transformation.

The exhibition is funded by the Decentralised Cultural Work Fund of the Spandau district authority.

In her ongoing series “The Phantoms Project,” Dana Arieli explores locations once affected by fascist rule. Their history is not always apparent, as former functions are often concealed by the mundane aspects of their current appearance and use. Sometimes they are building facades; sometimes, they are parking lots. 

In the Historic Cellar Gallery, Arieli presents an interim assessment: photographs from 15 years of work, that has not yet been completed. Additionally, visitors see a documentation of a tour she conducted through the urban space of Spandau. The visible and invisible elements that emerge when approaching these places allude to the expressible and inexpressible aspects of their contexts and collective memory.

Branislav Jankic and Dana Melaver have developed complex artistic approaches and forms of expression to explore different interpretations of the “self” and possibilities of its representation. The body plays a central role in this exploration. Questions about its essence and its physical as well as metaphysical boundaries are examined through video, photography, sculpture, and performance. Biographical and geopolitical contexts are equally important for understanding the context.