A conceptual view onto the museum space

Over a period of two years I photographed in the exhibition halls of the Bodemuseum at the Berlin Museum Island. I chose, not in the sense of reproduction of art, but as an attempt to explore the perception of space, the immediate surroundings of sculptures and paintings.

The project is not about the Bodemuseum itself as a representative space or the works of art exhibited there, but rather the museum halls in general as the stage for certain objects, which by being presented in this space are validated as museum objects. I aim to convert the background into a stage for art in its own right. The Project title B.ODE is a word play between Bode and homage (Ode) – a tribute to the museum space.

"Andrea Wilmsen’s photographs do not always reveal what kind of room we are looking at - or, for that matter, if it is a room at all. The German photographer challenges viewers with her images of absolutely intimate yet very public spaces in museums. She frequently focuses on details or approaches empty walls so closely that we are sometimes led to believe that we are looking at an abstract or nonfigurative photograph [...]"

Matthias Harder,

Curator Helmut Newton Foundation, Berlin