neue Gesellschaft
für bildende Kunst

Collective Listening with Irene Fernández Arcas
as part of the work Inner Care in Public Spaces

Location: Kottbusser Tor, on the platform of U1
Please bring a smartphone and headphones.

While remaining critical of the neoliberal exploitation of self-care, body, and mind, Exploring Inner Care in Public Spaces examines the desire to achieve intimacy and make connections in urban settings. With a colorful, enveloping art installation on the platform of the U1 at Kottbusser Tor, Irene Fernández Arcas’s paintings and illustrations create a visual refuge of ease and well-being to be experienced individually or collectively while commuting.

A continuation of the artist’s practice on the healing potential of art and creativity in our daily lives, the project also encompasses an audio work. The 15-minute guided meditation is accessible via QR code for viewing and listening to on a smartphone. According to the artist, “We can all create inner spaces with very little tools, no matter our age or background. If you create your own inner space and go there, you can find whatever you want to find, such as peace or relaxation.” Inviting underground passengers to explore their own “inner forests,” the project aims to offer a moment of rest and connection in one of the busiest and most contradictory spots in Berlin, a place characterized by decades of resistance, joy, and community, but also homelessness, gentrification, and control. 

In order to be accessible to as many people as possible, the meditation is available in ten languages, including a visual-only version.

Irene Fernández Arcas is an interdisciplinary artist. She creates installations, combining drawings, paintings, audio, text, and performative rituals. Through her work, she explores new descriptions of health, spirituality and the healing potential of art. Her practice embraces experiments and ongoing research into domestic rituals, self-care, and the process of art making itself. Fernández Arcas was born in Granada, Spain. She studied media in Málaga and fine arts in Berlin. Her work has been shown in Spain, Italy, Portugal, and Germany, and in Berlin most recently at Galerie Wedding, Sammlung Haubrok, Kühlhaus Berlin, THE FAIREST - Blake and Vargas Gallery, The Institute of Endotic Research, and Galerie im Turm.