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Berlin Fashion Week SS27 – The HIGHLIGHTS 1/7
Berlin Fashion Week SS27: From William Fan and Andrej Gronau to IOANNES, RAUM.Berlin and emerging talent – discover the week’s standout shows and events.
Markets, memories, installations and bold new perspectives
The Berlin Fashion Week continues to redefine contemporary fashion: William Fan transformed collecting into a poetic wardrobe, Andrej Gronau turned gardens into wearable ecosystems, IOANNES welcomed guests into an intimate salon experience, while RAUM.Berlin, Berlin Curated and Taskin Goec explored new ways of presenting fashion beyond the runway.
WILLIAM FAN
Credit: William Fan, Ben Mönks William Fan’s Spring/Summer 2027 collection, “Exchange”, found inspiration in strolling and exploring international markets. These included the souks of Marrakesh, flea markets in Tokyo, the antique streets of Shanghai, and the bustling markets of Hong Kong. The collection explored the universal human fascination with collecting, curating, and preserving. Held at The Foundry, over 800 objects from the label’s “Fan Plaza” souvenir shop adorned the venue’s columns.
The collection itself ranged from tailoring to casual leisurewear. It featured, for example, elegantly flowing cargo trousers. There were also casually layered shirts. Suit trousers were broken up with boxer shorts-style details. Sculptural pleats, textured surfaces, and deliberately aged finishes narrate the tale of a wardrobe brimming with memories. These elements offer visual references, as seen in the ‘Currency Exchange’ jumper, the show’s opening look. Read more.
ANDREJ GRONAU
Credit: Andrej Gronau, James Cochrane A nearby garden can become a haven in everyday life – a place where, in the blink of an eye, you can let your mind wander far away. Fascinated by these microcosms, Andrej Gronau designed the “Island’s Isolation” collection, which he presented at Friedrichsfelde Palace.
Hand-painted cats, mice, watering cans and flowers adorn jackets, dresses and skirts, transforming them into miniature ecosystems in their own right. Metallic accents and vibrant colours break up the natural colour palette, contributing to the playful character for which the label is known. View more.
RAUM.BERLIN
Credit: RAUM.Berlin, Celine Witon RAUM.Berlin kicked off its third edition with opening remarks by Christiane Arp, Chairwoman of Fashion Council Germany, and Gitta Connemann, Parliamentary State Secretary at the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy.
At the John Jahr Haus, four designers transformed individual spaces into immersive, interdisciplinary experiences. They demonstrated the many possibilities of presenting fashion beyond the traditional runway. Elodie Carstensen captivated audiences with a dreamlike performance centered around a water installation. PLNGNS presented an interactive showcase featuring interior objects created from sneakers.
Natascha von Hirschhausen explored the relationship between observer and observed through her zero-waste works, and Lennart Bohle unveiled sculptural, quiet yet powerful silhouettes that brought together traditional craftsmanship and a forward-looking vision. View more.
IOANNES
Credit: IOANNES, Ben Mönks Following the AW26 collection “Apokalypsis,” IOANNES returns home. Creative director Johannes Boehl Cronau invites guests to “Salon 01” in his apartment and studio in Mitte during Berlin Fashion Week. This marks the opening chapter of a series of intimate, immersive experiences. The sensory atmosphere is enhanced by a collaboration with perfume house Escentric Molecules, whose cult fragrance Escentric 01 fills the space.
Founded by perfumer Geza Schoen and creative director Paul White, the brand has earned cult status through its minimalist, gender-neutral approach. “Salon 01” is part of the FCG Studio2Retail program. IOANNES pieces can be purchased directly on-site. Personal appointments are available in the days following the event. View more.
MARIUSZ PRZYBYLSKI
Credit: Mariusz Przybylski, Boris Marberg As part of Berlin Fashion Week, Mariusz Przybylski presented ‘KICK OFF’, an expressive menswear collection that explores identity, contrasts and the beauty of opposites. Across a total of 30 looks, the Polish designer focused on a contemporary understanding of masculinity. This was characterised by lightness and strength. It also featured precision and joy. Additionally, it encompassed tradition and personal attitude. Read more.
BERLIN CURATED
Credit: Berlin Curated, Finnegan Koichi Godenschweger For its second edition, Berlin Curated hosted an event at the legendary bunker, The Feuerle Collection, showcasing 13 up-and-coming designers from across Germany. Berlin Curated is a long-term support programme for emerging talent at the start of their professional careers. The programme supports the designers through various formats as part of Berlin Fashion Week.
The runway show marked the start of the event. Curated by Christiane Arp, Josepha Rodríguez and Sonja Hodzode, the runway show showcased a lavish collection featuring a high-quality mix of materials and thoughtful styling. The looks featured a deliberate combination of materials. They included leather details and bow-tied skirts. There were also corsets with subtle Rococo touches. Berlin Curated is a project funded by the Senate Department for Economics, Energy and Public Enterprises and implemented by the Berlin-based agency 0049x. Read more.
TASKIN GOEC
Credit: Taskin Goec, Tim Kestel At the Lobe Block in Gesundbrunnen, LATTE is presenting Taskin Goec’s first solo exhibition: “BLACK EYE”. The Berlin-based designer is regarded as one of the pioneers at the intersection of fashion and artificial intelligence. Over the years, he has pushed the digital boundaries of fashion for international clients and on international stages. Now, for the first time, he is stepping into the spotlight under his own name. A fashion show has always been a proposal: a suggestion to the market, even before production begins. With “BLACK EYE”, Goec takes this literally. View more.
BFW STREETSTYLE PHOTO COMPETITION
Credit: Kenneth Ize, Tim Kestel The BFW Streetstyle Photo Competition is also entering a new round: from 2 to 12 July, photographers are invited to capture the spirit of Fashion Week on the streets of Berlin. The winner will have their work published in SICKY magazine and will receive further prizes. Full details on how to enter can be found here.
Taged as/in; Andrej Gronau, berlin, Berlin Curated, Berlin Fashion Week, contemporary, Designers, exhibition, fashion, IOANNES, Mariusz Przybylski, RAUM Berlin, Runway, SS27, Streetstyle, STUDIO2RETAIL, tailoring, Taskin Goec, William Fan#writtenby:
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VA – Made by Humans LP via WIE EIN GOTT Records
Made By Humans is a new compilation by Wie Ein Gott Records, bringing together a selection of the label’s favourite contemporary underground artists.
Set in a not-so-distant future, music creation has become heavily automated. Algorithms compose, mix, and master tracks with surgical precision, gradually sidelining human creators. People are no longer seen as contributors but as inefficiencies, until they are removed from the process altogether.
Made by Humans…
The tipping point comes when a Nobel Prize is awarded to an entity CPK1310-5L. This is for discovering a mathematical model nicknamed God’s Formula. It’s a set of harmonic ratios and progression templates capable of generating the “perfect” song. Machines begin spawning infinite near-perfect variations across all known genres, optimally structured, flawlessly balanced.
Amid this sterile sonic landscape, a new music movement emerges. Rooted in imperfection, accidents and emotional intensity, qualities machines discard as noise, it refuses to conform. This music stutters, distorts, bleeds. To bypass the algorithmic gatekeepers, it’s shared through HUMDRM. This is an anti-DRM encryption system accessible only to biological listeners. Unlocked by using heartbeat verification, these tracks are marked as “Made by Humans.”
Rare and difficult to trace, these sonic artefacts ripple through the underground until they begin taking over dim basements and industrial warehouses across the world.
Featuring:
With contributions by Pink Stiletto, Brood Faye, Sleek Teeth, Desolate Discotheque, Blood Handsome, Fuedal, Blood Rave, Abby Knives & Manuel Matarasso. Furthermore Dildox, Healng, Static Ghost, Temptrix, GOD TONGUE, and Leere Menge are featured in the compilation.
Details:
Release Date: July 10th, 2026
Catalog Number GOTT21
Made By Humans will be released via Wie Ein Gott Records on July 10.
The album captures a raw spectrum of industrial EBM, dark disco, rave, and post-club experimentation. This album is shaped by human volatility rather than machine perfection.
About WIE EIN GOTT Records:
Founded in Germany, WIE EIN GOTT Records is an independent label dedicated to the darker edges of electronic music. Bridging industrial, EBM, dark disco, post-punk, rave and experimental club sounds, the label champions artists who value individuality, emotion and creative risk over conformity.
With a strong visual identity and a focus on concept-driven releases, WIE EIN GOTT Records has become a platform for contemporary underground music that embraces the raw, imperfect and unpredictable qualities of human expression.
Taged as/in; Abby Knives, Blood Handsome, Blood Rave, Brood Faye, Compilation, Dark Disco, darkwave, Desolate Discotheque, Dildox, EBM, electronic music, Fuedal, GOD TONGUE, Healng, industrial, Leere Menge, Made By Humans, Manuel Matarasso, Pink Stiletto, post club, Rave, Sleek Teeth, Static Ghost, Temptrix, underground, Wie Ein Gott Records#writtenby:
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Matured Sinners – Matured Sinners EP via Eskimo Recordings
Swedish producer Johan Blende and Athens’ NTEIBINT unite as Matured Sinner, delivering hypnotic indie dance with cosmic disco grooves and analog synth energy.
Who, or, what, exactly is a Matured Sinner? In this case it’s the result of a meeting of both minds and bodies between Swedish producer Johan Blende, freshly relocated to Athens, and fellow Eskimo artist and native Athenian NTEIBINT.
Among the decidedly weak minds succumbing to night time activities, an idea was born. This idea emerged amid day time regret. It aimed to create the best Greco-Norse creation since ABBA stole a bouzouki. They used it shamefully for the best part of Mamma Mia (OST ™).
“I took one of my half-baked beats to George (aka NTEIBINT) to see what he could add to it and voilà – Mist 9000 was born!” explained Johan. Now the track is complete with pulsating analogue arpeggios. It also has a throbbing bass line and increasingly distressed synths. They all writhe together in composed ecstasy that dance floors are made for. The track that emerged from George’s studio left them hungry for more.
Almost queasily blissful sighs
Returning to the studio, it isn’t long before the song that would give this new project its name emerged. Created with the help of a friend Olga on backing vocals and an unnamed, equally sinning, young lad. Matured Sinner paired hypnotic disco beats, sinuous synths, and squawking sine waves. It combined almost queasily blissful sighs with a cautionary tale of drugs, flying saucer cults. The song spirals deeper and deeper into sin and moral ruin.
Was it enough? It was. But then the third one came around, mainly by sheer want to continue, lingering like the third child of a marriage running out of ideas. Shall we keep going? “Of course we shall, this is our gift to the world!”
Like a modern day cult, Bright Bum was conceived in a non-sexual context from leftover sounds after a night of confusing creations and not necessarily tender compliments in an equal manner, chugging synths squelching their way over a mesmerising guitar loop as bright stabs cut through the humid funk of the track’s insistent rhythm which, like all good nights out, increasingly fray at the edges as it rolls towards oblivion. Nobody requested it but like the nature of humanity itself, it must keep going.
Details:
Taged as/in; analog, Athens, cosmic disco, dancefloor, Disco, Electronic, EP, Eskimo Recordings, grooves, Indie Dance, Johan Blende, Matured Sinner, Music, NTEIBINT, Nu Disco, Producer, release, sweden, synths, vinyl#writtenby:
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Paloceras – News from Our Favorite eyewear Powerhouse
Paloceras unveils Exuva with Ada Sokół and introduces two new Hydroceras editions by Rolf Ekroth, presented during Paris Fashion Week 2026.
Event: Paloceras avec Ada Sokół presents Exuva
The Finnish Powerhouse Paloceras released a butterfly-inspired eyewear collaboration with Warsaw-based 3D artist and designer Ada Sokół. Rooted in the transformation from digital to physical, the project becomes limited-edition eyewear. It sits between specimen and wearable art. The design combines a butterfly-inspired silhouette with futuristic contours. It also features jewellery-like details.
New In: two limited Hydroceras editions at PFW 2026
Finnish designer Rolf Ekroth has collaborated with Paloceras. They created two limited-edition versions of the Hydroceras frame. The versions are named Sour Apple and Cherry Cola. The frames were revealed on his runway show on June 25th, and join the collection at the Sphere showroom in the Palais de Tokyo until 28 June.
Visit The Paloceras Showrooms
Paloceras has 4 showrooms around the world: in Paris, London, Los Angeles and Helsinki. Each showroom has broad selection of Paloceras frames available for photography loans and styling. Meetings by appointment only. Respective emails to each showroom below listed on our website.
ABOUT PALOCERAS
Paloceras is a Finnish independent eyewear brand redefining the boundaries of contemporary eyewear through experimental design, advanced craftsmanship, and innovative materials. Every frame is conceived as a sculptural object, balancing bold aesthetics with everyday wearability.
Driven by a fascination with organic forms, architecture, and material exploration, Paloceras creates eyewear that exists between art and function. The brand embraces the dialogue between nature and technology, tradition and innovation, resulting in distinctive pieces that challenge conventional ideas of luxury and design.
Produced in limited quantities with meticulous attention to detail, each collection reflects Paloceras’ commitment to originality, quality, and creative collaboration. Working with visionary artists, designers, and cultural innovators, the brand continuously expands its universe through projects that blur the boundaries between fashion, contemporary art, and collectible design.
Paloceras has showrooms in Paris, London, Los Angeles, and Helsinki. It serves a global community of opticians, stylists, collectors, and design enthusiasts. These individuals value uncompromising creativity and craftsmanship.
Taged as/in; Ada Sokół, butterfly, craftsmanship, design, Exuva, eyewear, fashion, Helsinki, hydroceras, innovation, London, Los Angeles, Paloceras, Paris, PFW2026, Rolf Ekroth, sculpture, warsaw, wearable art#writtenby:
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Fotografiska preview 2026 – Billhardt, Greenfield, Ballen
Fotografiska Berlin unveils its second half of 2026 with exhibitions by Thomas Billhardt, Lauren Greenfield, Roger Ballen, and Emerging Berlin.
The second half of 2026 at Fotografiska Berlin explores the power of images to challenge, connect, and transform. Lauren Greenfield’s immersive social studies leads the way, as we reflect on how digital life reshapes identity, agency, and human connection. Through resilience, we observe history’s unfiltered realities. We see oppression in Thomas Billhardt’s raw documentation of life under a rigid system.
Roger Ballen reinvents the boundaries of photography, drawing, and painting, pushing the medium into new, spontaneous forms. Together with the Emerging Berlin program, this season forms a dynamic dialogue about resilience, truth, and the evolving language of visual storytelling – inviting us to see, question, and reimagine the world around us.
Thomas Billhardt – ‘Die Augen Weit Offen’
28 Aug 2026 – 7 Feb 2027
Memoria presents four decades of Nachtwey’s uncompromising work on the frontlines of global conflict, revealing the human cost of war and reasserting the camera as a tool of empathy, responsibility, and moral witnessing. Die Augen Weit Offen (Eyes Wide Open) reveals the unfiltered reality of East Germany. It does so through the eyes of a photographer who is deeply embedded in its political and social fabric.
Thomas Billhardt, Alexanderplatz, Berlin, 1960 © Thomas Billhardt, CAMERA WORK Gallery From his lifelong observation of Alexanderplatz, that started with his graduation project, to his documentation of the Vietnam War, and his travels to Cuba and the USSR, Billhardt’s images document history as it unfolded: raw, intimate, and free from nostalgia. It is proof that life finds a way, no matter how rigid the system: people loving, laughing, protesting, and surviving despite and within a system far bigger than themselves.
The exhibition is realized in collaboration with Camera Work Gallery.
Lauren Greenfield – ‘Social Studies’
26 Sep 2026 – 12 Jan 2027
What does it mean to grow up in the digital age? In Social Studies, Lauren Greenfield answers this question with a groundbreaking social experiment. For over a year, she followed a group of Los Angeles teenagers. They opened up their lives and their phones to her. This allowed her to record their real-time smartphone data. She also filmed them at school, at home, with friends and parents. The result: an unyielding exploration of modern adolescence and the role of social media, captured in an Emmy-nominated five-part series — now streaming on FX, Hulu and Disney+.
Now that work becomes an exhibition you can walk inside. Across roughly 5,000 square feet, Greenfield enlarges what normally lives on a six-inch screen to the scale of the human body, slowing down the ephemeral scroll so that we can deconstruct and see what young people face every day.
Greenfield uses photographs, typologies, an immersive bedroom installation, an algorithm room, and a screening space for the series. She reveals shocking truths about how social media reshapes identity, connection, and self-worth. Compassionate yet unflinching, she exposes the true cost of digital life while inviting us to reclaim agency — to move from passive consumers to active participants in our digital lives.
This is more than an exhibition. Together with the Education Innovation Lab and Adenauer Campus, we expand our reach beyond the museum. We engage with Berlin’s teenagers through participatory workshops. Their insights will shape a digital learning journey. These contributions will enhance the exhibition’s supporting program, which launches in September with free access for school classes. It continues a conversation about the power and responsibility of images in today’s world.
For more details on the project here.
Roger Ballen – Roger Ballen.! Drawing Meets Photography
6 Nov 2026 – 14 Mar 2027
Roger Ballen.! Drawing Meets Photography explores the blurred boundaries between drawing, photography, and painting, showcasing Roger Ballen’s evolution from narrative photography to a mixed-media practice rooted in spontaneity and Art Brut.
Roger Ballen, Snatched, 2021, from the series Spirits and Spaces © Roger Ballen The exhibition at Fotografiska traces the artist’s numerous bodies of work in a loosely chronological order, showcasing iconic black-and-white photographs, recent color works, Polaroids, etchings, and original drawings. The exhibition is completed by lesser-known works that unexpectedly complete his practice. Alongside installations like a new Drawing Man piece, it explores Ballen’s deeply unique aesthetic – the “Ballenesque”. The exhibition is realized in collaboration with Museum Gugging.
Emerging Berlin
The Emerging Berlin program highlights the future of photographic practice influenced by the city. Artists selected through an open call receive solo exhibitions, mentorship, media visibility, and professional support. Together, these presentations form a vibrant index of Berlin’s evolving artistic ecosystems – spaces where experimentation, dialogue, and critical reflection foster new visual languages.
Website: Fotografiska Berlin
Taged as/in; art, Art Brut, berlin, contemporary photography, documentary photography, drawing, Emerging Berlin, exhibition, Fotografiska Berlin, Lauren Greenfield, Museum, Photography, Roger Ballen, Social Media, Thomas Billhardt, visual culture#writtenby:
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Dina Summer – Children Of The Night / Bats In Paris
Dina Summer return with the mini album Children Of The Night on October 9, 2026, led by the dark disco anthems “Children Of The Night” and “Bats In Paris”.
The Berlin-based Dina Summer is a collaborative project of Greek-German dark-disco couple Local Suicide and Bavarian electronic producer Kalipo. The supergroup began working together in 2019 and have since been refining their combined sound. It is a unique blend of their influences, drawing from 80s italo disco, new wave, EBM and early 00s electroclash for a dark retro-futuristic synth/wave pop sound that stands out with club-ready basslines, epic melodic hooks, and lyrics ranging from dadaist abstractions to empowering, thought-provoking themes.
Children Of The Night
On October 9, 2026, the trio will return with their new mini album, “Children Of The Night”, bringing together all the elements that have defined their sound so far. The nine track record pays homage to Bela Lugosi’s iconic line in Dracula (1931): “Listen to them. Children of the night… what music they make”.
The title track emblematises a new era for Dina Summer, which sees the band take their popular dark disco style and turn up the intensity. High synths fire out like warning shots over propulsive basslines while Dina cries out, summoning an army to the dancefloor. Its lyrics are a call to arms for all night creatures, an invitation to step out of the shadows and forge a new world together.
Bats In Paris
Calling all misfits, goths and nocturnal creatures the new single “Bats In Paris” is the perfect soundtrack for stalking moodily through the night. The track begins with a crisp synth intro that forms the foundation for Dina’s sultry vocal line. With its spoken-word lyrics oozing cool, the track evokes the band’s popular single “Girls Gang”, this time leaning more into pop stylings as Kalipo joins Dina to sing a chorus that’ll have you tapping your feet.
Children Of The Night Tour
On the Children Of The Night Tour, the trio will perform at renowned venues festivals including Berghain, Wave Gotik Treffen, Amphi Festival, E-Tropolis Festival, Grauzone Festival, Out Of Line Weekender, Katzenclub Festival, Extramuralhas and Baroeg before embarking on a series of headline shows in Berlin, London, Paris, Athens, São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Santiago, Buenos Aires and many more.
The mini album will be released on October 9th 2026, digitally and on vinyl via Iptamenos Discos, with editions available on black vinyl and blood red/black marbled vinyl.
Details:
release date: July 15th, 2026
label: Iptamenos Discos
catalog no: IDI027TOURDATES:
- 25.07.2026 Germany, Cologne – Amphi Festival 2026
- 20.08.2026 Portugal, Leiria, Extramuralhas Festival 2026
- 12.09.2026 Netherlands, Rotterdam, Baroeg Open Air 2026
- 31.10.2026 United Kingdom, London – Halloween – Dark London x Nag Nag Nag
- 07.11.2026 Germany, Munich – Katzenclub Festival 2026
- 20.11.2026 Germany, Greifswald – STRAZE
- 05.12.2026 Chile, Santiago De Chile – Allisblack – TBA
- 13.12.2026 Argentina, Buenos Aires – Dark Eterno – Arkham Multiespacio
- 18.12.2026 Brasil, Sao Paulo – Madame Underground Club
- 19.12.2026 Brasil, Rio De Janeiro – Noise Democrazy
- 05.02.2027 Germany, Berlin – Hole44
- 12-14.02.2027 Netherlands, The Hague – Grauzone Festival 2027
- 20.02.2027 Athens – Ilion Plus
- 20.03.2027 Germany, Oberhausen, E-Tropolis Festival 2027
- 28.05.2027 Germany, Lübeck – treibsAND
TIMELINE:
- 24.06.2026 Single 1 ’Children Of The Night’’ + Mini Album ‚Children Of The Night’‘ Announcement
- 15.07.2026 Single 2 ‘Bats In Paris’
- 05.08.2026 Single 3 ‘Rat Race’
- 09.09.2026 Single 4 ‘Burning Heart’
- 09.10.2026 Mini Album ‚Children Of The Night‘ VÖ + Focus Track ’Komodo 3000’
Taged as/in; Amphi Festival, Athens, Baroeg Open Air, Bats In Paris, berlin, Buenos Aires, Burning Heart, Children Of The Night, Dark Disco, darkwave, Dina Summer, E-Tropolis Festival, EBM, electroclash, Extramuralhas, goth, Grauzone Festival, Iptamenos Discos, italo disco, Kalipo, Katzenclub Festival, Komodo 3000, Local Suicide, London, New Wave, Rat Race, Rio de Janeiro, Santiago, São Paulo, Synthwave#writtenby:
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Zimmer – A Gate To Another World EP via Es Mi Momento
Zimmer returns with A Gate To Another World, a dark techno & dark wave EP featuring Requin Chagrin, Local Suicide and Elinorac.
Zimmer returns with a new EP : « A Gate To Another World ». Exploring the darker side of his music, the EP blends techno & dark wave, and features french rock act Requin Chagrin, and german acts Local Suicide & Elinorac.
Genres change but Zimmer’s sonic palette can still be felt : lush pads, highly emotional melodies. First full project since his 2022 second album, the release comes with music videos shot in Berlin & Paris. The tracks recalls acts such as Boy Harsher, Phase Fatale & Butschi.
Last may, he played Paris’s best underground techno club (La Station) and 2 of Mexico’s best techno venues (Funk and Bars Americas). Zimmer’s focus on club music can be seen through his newly launched label and club night series « Es Mi Momento ».
Taged as/in; A Gate To Another World, berlin, Boy Harsher, Butschi, club culture, Dark wave, DJ, electronic music, Elinorac, EP, Es Mi Momento, France, Germany, Indie Dance, Local Suicide, new music, Paris, Phase Fatale, Producer, Requin Chagrin, techno, underground, Zimmer#writtenby:
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Transience as Coming Home: Jinran Kim at Galerie Anna25
Seoul-born Berlin artist Jinran Kim explores death as a return home. Her exhibition Silence and Eternity reflects on life, ritual, and mortality.
Based in Berlin since the 1990s, Seoul-born artist Jinran Kim has established an international presence, with major exhibitions spanning Tokyo, Seoul, Paris, and Berlin. She is known for works exploring war, destruction, and trauma. She has painted with ash, creating vast scenarios of bombed cities, including 1945’s Berlin. And she has assembled coffins crafted from bars of soap.
Life as a Short Excursion
Death is present in her current exhibition too, though in a different register. Monumental black-and-grey paintings evoke landscapes of ruins. Beside them are muted-color objects, nearly two meters high, which at first resemble paintings but reveal themselves to be deathbeds.
Kim has titled these works The Last Mattresses, dedicating them to the place where we take our final breath. Where does this fascination with death and dying come from?
108 Stairs Temple, Jinran Kim “For me death is like a joyful return home. Life is a short excursion, and what remains at its end is the joy of coming home again.”
Jinran KimMilestones of a Journey
Her exhibition visualizes not only dying itself, but also the stages that precede it. Birth and marriage are the milestones, Kim says; at least that is how they are traditionally viewed in Korea.
Born and raised in Seoul, Kim has lived in Berlin for 30 years but continues to work regularly in Korea. Most recently, she contributed to the dazzling media façade of Seoul’s Lotte Tower, one of the tallest buildings in the world. This massive public project stands in stark contrast to the quiet atmosphere of the current exhibition, where she adopts a deliberately traditional aesthetic.
Gossip, Jinran Kim A miniature model of a Korean village allows visitors to glimpse what takes place behind tiny doors. Nearby stands a replica of the chest that Korean brides traditionally received upon marriage. Kim’s wedding chest is an elegantly curved piece of furniture made of precious wood, with a small oval opening at the top – for a video.
In Dialogue with Ulrike Ottinger
The video, filmed during a performance by Kim, is – though not exclusively – a response to the work of a German filmmaker whom she greatly admires: Ulrike Ottinger and her film The Korean Wedding Chest, which premiered at the Berlinale in 2009.
“Ulrike Ottinger developed an early and very earnest interest in Korea, its traditions, and also how they change. Today, Korea is popular thanks to K-pop and cinema, but when I came to Berlin, it was completely different. I felt like an alien. I am all the more delighted that she has allowed me to show her film in my exhibition.”
Jinran KimKim’s own film — the video inside the wedding chest — shows a woman kneeling on a floor made of thousands of bars of soap, wiping it tirelessly with the same repetitive movements. Exercise in Futility is the title. Futile? Marriage, or life itself?
Exercise in Futility, Jinran Kim “It is a practice,” Kim says, “a practice on the way to where I am truly at home.”
That idea resonates throughout the exhibition. Death appears not as a rupture, but as part of a longer journey marked by birth, marriage, labor, and ritual. In Kim’s hands, the symbols of mortality never lose their gravity, yet they are stripped of finality. What remains is the possibility that the end of life may also be a return.
Jinran Kim: Silence and Eternity
Exhibition: May 29-July 3, 2026, Galerie Anna25
Schönleinstr. 25, 10967 BerlinSpecial Event (Screening): Ulrike Ottinger’s “The Korean Wedding Chest” on Friday, June 26, 2026, at 7:00 PM
Registration required: koreakunst2026@gmail.com
Taged as/in; Art Berlin, berlin, Berlinale, contemporary art, culture, Death, Eternity, exhibition, Film, Galerie Anna25, gallery, Identity, Installation Art, Jinran Kim, Korea, Korean Artist, Kreuzberg, Lotte Tower, media art, memory, mortality, painting, Philosophy, ritual, sculpture, seoul, Silence and Eternity, tradition, Ulrike Ottinger, Visual Art, Wedding Chest#writtenby:
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Chemical Eyes – Undo & Casiowaves, Chloé & Italo Brutalo
Undo & Casiowaves fuse post-punk nostalgia, synthwave energy and analog warmth on Chemical Eyes, a psychedelic journey through past and present.
Undo & Casiowaves join forces to bend minds on their new EP “Chemical Eyes”. The Catalonian pairing, collaborators for the past five years, have built a body of work that’s conceptually rich and sonically sophisticated. The “Chemical Eyes” EP is a love letter to analog synths, taking us on a psychedelic trip through past and present, nostalgic but never mimetic.
Chemical Eyes
Reality begins to warp the moment “Chemical Eyes” kicks in. The title track opens in post-punk territory, leaning into nostalgia both lyrically and sonically and with synth outro that lingers like a memory.
Parisian producer Chloé’s remix takes us firmly into the 21st century, chopping up the title track until it mutates into something more minimal and syncopated. This electronic take still holds onto the track’s post-punk mood. It features contemplative loops and reverb-drenched guitar. We begin to move from the concert venue into the club.
Trumpsky Beats
B side “Trumpsky Beats” picks up the pace with neon-soaked synthwave that references the 80s synthpop icons in more than just name. Crisp, shimmering synths dance through warped bass lines and new wave drum patterns, creating a lush contrapuntal soundscape that thrives as much on nostalgic memory as it does on contemporary creativity.
Italo Brutalo’s remix amps up the intensity further with infectious snares and acid twangs. The German producer and synth enthusiast adds a tasteful complexity that pulls the EP fully onto the dancefloor.
Where We Belong
Exclusive digital bonus “Where We Belong” gives us space to cool down with resonant pads and vocoder-warped vocals, perfect for soaking in as the sun comes up.
Tracklist:
A1: Undo & Casiowaves – Chemical Eyes
A2: Undo & Casiowaves (Chloé Remix)
B1: Undo & Casiowaves – Trumpsky Beats
B2: Undo & Casiowaves – Trumpsky Beats (Italo Brutalo Remix)
Digital Bonus – Undo & Casiowaves – Where We BelongAbout the Artists
Undo is a Barcelona-based producer, DJ and live act known for his distinctive blend of electronic music, drawing inspiration from synth-pop, new wave, EBM and contemporary club sounds. As a key figure in the Catalan electronic scene, he has released music on respected labels and built a reputation for crafting emotionally resonant tracks that balance melodic depth with dancefloor functionality.
Casiowaves is the project of Barcelona-based musician and producer José Guerrero. His work is deeply rooted in a passion for vintage synthesizers, analog textures, and retro-futuristic aesthetics. Combining influences from synthwave, post-punk and classic electronic music, Casiowaves creates cinematic soundscapes that evoke nostalgia while maintaining a modern perspective.
Over the past five years, Undo & Casiowaves have developed a unique collaborative identity. They merge their shared love of analog synthesis, post-punk atmospheres, and forward-thinking electronic production. Their work explores the intersection of memory, emotion and technology, resulting in music that feels both timeless and contemporary.
Taged as/in; AnalogSynth, Barcelona, Casiowaves, Catalonia, Chemical Eyes, Chloé, Clubculture, dancefloor, darkdisco, Electronic, Electronica, ElectronicMusic, Germany, Indie Dance, indiedance, Italo Brutalo, newwave, Paris, postpunk, Remix, Synthpop, Synthwave, Undo, vinyl#writtenby:
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