A white space surgically carved into the foundations of a Plattenbau, illuminating the grey. Inside, 77 different artworks vie for the Marzahner Publikumspreis “Beton Fuchs.” The concrete fox. Yes, that must have been what he felt like he was when he entered the gallery, a fox lost in the urban jungle, head lowered, eyes shifty, though looking, looking for something to open up to him, something that would open him up.

Exhibit #35: Bees pollinating, nature’s blue-collar workers in yellow hi-vis jackets. They die. On the canvas, a hole is burnt through their bodies. The palette dulls. The plants wither.

Exhibit #45: Refined wooden blocks, meticulously shaped, colourful backdrops. A miracle of man’s enterprise and manufacturing prowess. But the blocks don’t fit, a gaping hole where nature should be.

He speaks to the two artists. They talk about their art and their motivations. He nods and listens, thinks about his own writing, how futile it is sometimes as the world burns. Yet when he imagines a world without art, without literature, he cannot imagine himself in it.

Projektraum Galerie M opens Tuesdays to Saturdays 12-6pm. Voting for Beton Fuchs has to be done in person and ends on 15th Dec 2023.