It’s Just a Matter of Time

Tony Cokes, “Testament E: MF.slow. cancel.2024 (Rework 02)”, 2025 Digital print on PVC, billboard / Digitalprint auf PVC, Plakatwand
© 2025 Tony Cokes. Courtesy the artist, FELIX GAUDLITZ, Vienna, Greene Naftali, New York, and Hannah Hoffmann, Los Angeles
Foto: Mathias Schormann

Even before entering PalaisPopulaire, one is confronted on a billboard in bright pink and yellow: "There’s a set of forces, that want us to be permanently anxious." Crises, war, and patriarchy are such forces that have created and changed deep structures in our society. Cokes speaks directly to the viewers, draws attention, and demands conscious reflection on one's surroundings and societal mechanisms.

He brings central questions into focus: What interactions exist between the individual and the state? How do urban planning measures and architectural design shape our perception and our lives?

In the subsequent tour through the galleries of PalaisPopulaire, a nearly archaeological process unfolds. Different forces and strands of action that shape and influence our society are made visible and invite critical questioning.

Julian Irlinger is a contemporary artist who addresses social and economic dynamics in his works to reflect on historical events and their impacts felt to this day. His installations are characterized by a sensitive engagement with memory culture and the subtle as well as obvious interconnections between politics, economy, and everyday life.

Memory Culture and Artistic Reflection

Julian Irlinger, “Kites”, 2025 Glue, twine, wood, discarded bank notes / Kleber, Schnur, entsorgte Geldscheine.
Courtesy the artist and Galerie Thomas Schulte, Berlin
Foto: Mathias Schormann

“Kites” (2025) is an installation that critically examines the impacts of financial crises, addressing the value and transience of money. In the rotunda of PalaisPopulaire, kites made from banknotes seem to float weightlessly – a powerful image that reveals the close connection between time, money, and their societal value. Irlinger takes up a historical episode that occurred during the inflation of the Weimar Republic when paper money had lost so much value that children made kites out of it.

Inspired by a photograph documenting this absurd scene, Irlinger illuminates the mechanisms of a devalued economy and invites reflection on the fragile foundations of value and trust. His work uses both the visible – the banknote kites – and the invisible – the underlying stories and processes – to provoke deep reflection on economic contexts and their cultural implications. Irlinger’s installation thus becomes a space for critical memory and a call to actively engage with the challenges of past and present crises.

Shilpa Gupta is an internationally recognized artist known for her multimedia installations that often question social, political, and historical themes. Her works include photography, sculptures, performances, and installations, with a deep engagement with the boundaries and possibilities of memory.

Coming to Terms with the Past and Its Artistic Interpretation

Shilpa Gupta, “For, In Your Tongue, I Cannot Fit”, 2023 Casts of 100 books in gunme - tal, wooden and glass vitrines, light bulbs / Abgüsse von 100 Büchern aus Rotguss, Holzund Glasvitrinen, Glühbirnen.
© Shilpa Gupta, courtesy the artist and neugerriemschneider, Berlin
Foto: Mathias Schormann

“For, In Your Tongue, I Cannot Fit” (2017–23) is an installation that critically examines the transmission and representation of memory. Gupta calls for not only accepting physical testimonies like photographs or banknotes as components of memory culture but also questioning the gaps created by selective transmission. The installation includes four glassed, illuminated bookshelves displaying golden books – those burned at the nearby Bebelplatz on May 10, 1933, during the Nazi era. These books stand and lie, visibly showing their titles, authors' names, and sometimes content excerpts, while the empty wooden shelves between them refer to works that were also banned – and continue to be banned. Gupta uses this emptiness to highlight absence and create a space for reflective memory.

Just as words and writers were censored and defamed during the Nazi era, so were images and artists. Gupta addresses this censorship not only through the visible objects of her installation but also through the voids that prompt viewers to reflect on the mechanisms of repression and the persistence of such practices. Her work offers an opportunity to reclaim one's perspective and actively engage with suppressed memories.

German artist Lena Henke is known for her innovative approach to sculpture, pushing the boundaries of traditional methods and materials.

For her installation "City Lights (Dead Horse Bay)," Lena Henke shapes the island of Manhattan into the head of a horse, creating a surreal cityscape in bronze. Henke shifts the original perspective of towering skyscrapers and urban canyons, making the city appear manageable. Henke's bizarre garden is created with wild enthusiasm, obsession, and above all, the surreal vision of an architect's belief in modernity. The installation is a version of a monumental sculpture garden in pocket format.

Challenging Norms and Exploring Themes of Femininity

Lena Henke, “City Lights (Dead Horse Bay)”, 2016, Bronze, painted wood / Bronze, Holz, bemalt.
© Courtesy of the artist, Layr Vienna & Sammlung StadlerFoto: Mathias Schormann

Henke's work deals with questions of femininity and power dynamics in urban space. She sees the human body as something changeable, constantly shaped by societal forces. Her sculptures, often depicting horses and female forms, challenge traditional representations and engage with art historical traditions.

Rachel Whiteread’s portfolio “Demolished” from 1996 captures the demolition of three residential blocks in London’s East End.

Rachel Whiteread, "Demolished", 1996 From a twelve-part portfolio / Aus einer Mappe mit 12 Blättern, Screenprint on paper / Siebdruck auf Papier.
© Rachel Whiteread + Paragon | Contemporary Editions LTD

Themes and Significance

The series reflects the socio-economic changes in Britain under Margaret Thatcher and their impact on homelessness. Whiteread’s photographs document the destruction of high-rise buildings and mirror the themes of her earlier work “House” (1993), a concrete cast of a terraced house that was soon to be demolished.

The stark frontal views in “Demolished” create a sense of desolate silence and invite viewers to reflect on the unfolding drama of urban change. The absence of human figures underscores the feeling of cultural remnants and the relentless passage of time.

Artistic Approach

Whiteread uses her own color photographs as the basis for the enlarged black-and-white photo screen prints. This technique results in a range of gray tones that contribute to the documentary character and the unsettling, surreal quality of the prints. Through the portfolio format, Whiteread constructs a slow-motion narrative of architectural destruction.

Whiteread’s Artistic Shift

“Demolished” marks a shift in Whiteread’s focus from private spaces to anonymous, public areas like housing projects, reflecting a less nostalgic and more stringent sensibility while maintaining her commitment to documenting everyday surroundings.

Georges Tony Stoll, born in 1955, is a renowned French artist known for his diverse and impactful work. The art of Georges Tony Stoll often reflects societal themes, particularly addressing the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

ALLEZ ! TOUS ASSIS ! (1999/2025)

Georges Tony Stoll, "ALLEZ ! TOUS ASSIS !", 1999/2025 Chairs, jackets/ Stühle, Jacken.
© Aurélien Mole © Courtesy of Palais de Tokyo and Galerie Poggi, Paris
Foto: Mathias Schormann

The installation titled "ALLEZ ! TOUS ASSIS !" (1999/2025) shows a series of chairs draped with jackets, resembling a waiting room. The artwork symbolizes the absence of those who lost their lives to the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

Stoll criticizes the "disciplinary framework" of institutions and highlights the homophobia, bureaucracy, and inadequate care experienced by those affected by HIV/AIDS. At the same time, he draws parallels to the stigmatization faced by migrants and refugees today, highlighting societal prejudices and discrimination.

Cornelia Schleime is a German artist known for her multimedia works, including painting, drawings, photography, films, performances, music, and literature. Born in 1953 in East Berlin, she was confronted early on with surveillance and repression, which she addresses in her art.

Stasi Surveillance and Artistic Response

Cornelia Schleime, "Auf weitere gute Zusammenarbeit", 1993 From a fourteen-part portfolio / Aus einer Mappe mit 14 Blättern, Photograph on screenprint / Fotografie auf Siebdruck.
© Cornelia Schleime, courtesy Galerie Judin, Berlin

“It’s Just a Matter of Time” shows two works from Schleime’s series "Auf weitere gute Zusammenarbeit" (1993). In this series, the artist portrays herself based on files kept by the Stasi, which contain descriptions of her person created by informants of the Ministry for State Security who had been following her activities since 1980, reducing her life to a collection of assumptions and trivial observations. Through self-portraits, Schleime playfully exposes the repressive surveillance climate of East Germany, reclaiming her own narrative and freeing herself from this experience.

Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s “Wrapped Reichstag” (1995) was a monumental art installation in which the Reichstag building in Berlin was wrapped in shimmering silver fabric. The project, which waited 24 years for realization, began in 1971 when Germany was still divided. Christo and Jeanne-Claude understood the project as a symbol of unity and a democratic art experience accessible to both East and West Berlin. The wrapped Reichstag aimed to overcome political divisions and provide a strong image of a reunified Germany.

Christo & Jeanne-Claude, “Wrapped Reichstag”, 1984, Pencil, textile fabric, thread, oil pastels, charcoal, and gou - ache on cardboard, two parts / Bleistift, Textilgewebe, Faden, Ölkreide, Kohle und Gouache auf Cartonage, zweiteilig.
© Christo and Jeanne-Claude Foundation / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2025

Years of Planning and Debate

The project faced years of debates and controversies before it was finally approved by the Bundestag in 1995. The artists’ vision, the symbolic significance of the Reichstag, and the logistics of wrapping such an iconic building were subjects of intense discussion.

Legacy of the “Wrapped Reichstag”

The temporary transformation of the Reichstag captivated the world and left a lasting impression in both art and politics. The work is a poignant reminder of the unifying power of art and its ability to stimulate dialogue and reflection on historical events.

“Balkanik” is a traditional Turkish cake with Greek influence, now rarely found in Istanbul bakeries. Artist Ayse Erkmen first presented the cake’s recipe in 2003 during the exhibition “IN DEN SCHLUCHTEN DES BALKANS” at Kunsthalle Fridericianum, which explored the rapidly developing art and cultural scene of Southeast European countries. During the exhibition “It’s Just a Matter of Time,” the cake experiences a revival, and visitors can enjoy it at Café LePopulaire.

Ayşe Erkmen, "Balkanık2, 2003/2025, Cake project.
Courtesy of the artist / Galerie Trautwein Herleth, Berlin

Intercultural Transfer and Erasure

This act of reviving an almost forgotten recipe highlights the intercultural transfer and erasure within the Eurasian cultural space. With layers of sponge and choux pastry, milk cream, lemon and strawberry sauce, chocolate ganache, glaze and whipped cream, pistachio slivers or coconut flakes, candied fruits, Balkanik not only reflects the Eurasian cultural space with its multitude of social forms, languages, customs, and culinary traditions but also symbolizes the unstoppable flow of mutual cultural influences and overwrites. Erkmen’s work uses an everyday situation to illustrate how our social structure is always transculturally shaped. The layers of fillings and glazes demonstrate that identities are always more complex than they initially appear.

The cake symbolizes the historical exchange between Greek and Turkish culture, as well as the disappearance of traditions due to events such as the Greek-Turkish population exchange in the early 20th century.

Site-Specific Significance

Erkmen’s choice of Café LePopulaire in the Opera Café is significant. The place, which was a cosmopolitan hub during the GDR era, embodies a similar history of cultural layering and transformation, reflecting the themes present in “Balkanik”.

Liberty Adrian and Carina Bukuts have been jointly leading the exhibition institution Portikus in Frankfurt am Main since 2022. There, they curated solo exhibitions for Julian Irlinger (2025), Adrian Piper (2024), and Simone Fattal (2023). They already worked together in 2021 for the project Baldade Berlin, an exhibition parcours through Berlin. Liberty Adrian is an art historian, curator, and critic. Carina Bukuts works as an art historian, curator, author, and editor.