The Tale of the Scale and the Skull
Winning proposal for a Kunst am Bau competition (nichtoffener Kunstwettbewerb) for a new Archaeology Visitor Center in Berlin’s Museum Island („Neubau Besucherzentrum- Archäologisches Haus am Petriplatz“).
Commissioner: Land Berlin, vertreten durch Senatsverwaltung für Kultur und Europa; Kunst im Stadtraum und Kunst am Bau, in Abstimmung mit Senatsverwaltung für Stadtentwicklung und Wohnen und dem Landesdenkmalamt Berlin
Supervision: Büro für Kunst im öffentlichen Raum, BBK Berlin
Project management: Mascha Fehse
Execution: Cosmomusivo, Atelier für Mosaikkunst
The Tale of the Scale and the Skull is a b&w 650x650cm floor mosaic installed by mid-2022 on the building’s shared outdoor terrace. It takes its inspiration from two sources: the rich history of the Petriplatz area and the practice of archeological excavations. The mosaic echoes critical local findings; the first: the so-called “first Berliners,” the earliest human skeletons found in Berlin (early 12th Century), that will be on display in the building. The second: is the colossal statue of “Berolina,” a female figure symbolizing the city and its walls (19th Century). The other motives depicted are scattered excavation tools that seem to rotate along a circular path—evoking dream-like, centripetal movement, staging an imaginary contemporary excavation scene.
