Paradise in the shadow of history
As part of the City of Thun’s studio scholarship programme, photographer Sabine Hess spent six months in Berlin. The exhibition ‘Ortswechsel – Sabine Hess im Atelier Berlin’ (12 December 2025 to 1 March 2026, Kunstmuseum Thun) shows images of an idyllic spot that the artist discovered by chance on a bike tour. But she also documents research that casts a shadow over this little paradise. Sabine Hess talks about a project that will occupy her for a long time to come.
“I applied for the studio scholarship with a project idea on the theme of borders. When I arrived in Berlin, I immediately began to explore the outskirts of the city, the place between town and country. I wanted to find out what I would see there, what kind of people I would meet. It was a special time, with Germany in the throes of federal elections and a strengthening AfD. I had done a lot of research on the topic and was well prepared – and yet I couldn’t really get into a flow. Maybe it was simply because it was winter, which is quite grey and nasty up there. On the first beautiful spring evening, I took a trip to Krumme Lanke, a lake in south-west Berlin, on a recommendation. On the way there, I turned my bike into a street where I immediately felt at home. I could already sense the lake, but I was still in the forest. The light filtered through the leaves and I could hear children playing in the distance. I found myself in a neighbourhood of small houses and, having grown up in a village myself, the place felt very familiar. Later, I kept thinking about this place, this beautiful moment and the surroundings. And at some point, I decided to google the name of the street that I just couldn’t get out of my head. I quickly discovered that this very settlement, to which I had immediately felt a connection, had been built in the 1930s on behalf of the Nazi regime for elite employees. That triggered something in me. I asked myself: Why do I feel so drawn to this area? How do we deal with places like this today? This in turn led to the question: To what extent does the natural idyll serve to convey political ideologies?
In the small wooden house in the exhibition, there is a book that has been with me for some time in connection with these questions. It is called Landscape and Power (edited by W.J.T. Mitchell) and contains various essays that deal with the subject of landscape and its subjective relevance. In the book, landscape is not simply regarded as something to be viewed, but is also examined as an instrument of cultural power or a tool for creating national or social identity. We normally perceive nature and landscape as something neutral. In a cultural context, however, they are also very charged, very subjective. That interests me. Added to this is the topic of memory culture, which is once again very relevant due to the rise of right-wing extremist movements. I find combining these two aspects very exciting and would like to continue exploring them.
The exhibition, which shows the starting point of my photographic work and research Ein Haus am See (A House by the Lake), aims to provide insight into the scholarship as a process. It displays my pictures and texts with small observations and reflections that accompanied me during my time in Berlin. The photographs allow you to immerse yourself in this beautiful place in Berlin, a paradise that reminds you of a perfect summer in childhood. On closer inspection, however, the pictures also reveal small cracks, irritations that hint at what is yet to come. By opening and entering the cottage, by looking more closely, you learn about the background. I think it’s important to engage with the history of the place. At the same time, I want to show a place that has been reclaimed over time by people who are revitalising it in new and different ways.”
