Installation proposal for Neuköllner Kunstpreis 2027

Renewal is a spatial installation of thirteen panels featuring a lotus motif— for millennia a symbol of resilience and renewal. A large-format work acts as the focal point of the installation and is accompanied by twelve smaller variations of the motif, these may be suspended freely in the space or mounted on the wall facing the main piece. The works build a visual landscape that provides a quiet meditative space of peace and self-renewal, offered as a moment of stillness amid turbulent times.
The work is rooted in several years of research into the laws of the golden ratio, and into the artist’s own synesthetic perception. Through the gentle overlay of colours, forms, and tones, with the lotus as a constant point of reference, the work seeks to generate harmony and resonance — a quality increasingly understood today through the concept of flow, the state in which we transform trauma, move through fear, and come into alignment with our senses and our physical being.
Should the work be selected, this visual format will be complemented with sound: an opening performance whereby a gong will be played by the artist in real time within the space. This multisensory layer immerses the viewer directly into the piece, translating the artist’s own synaesthetic experience — where colour and sound merge. In this way, the performance opens a more intuitive, embodied access point to the installation.
Maria Kossak is a visual and performance artist who has lived and worked in Neukölln for 20 years. For the artist, who lives with a severe disability and relies on a wheelchair, *Renewal* carries a deeply autobiographical resonance — an unfolding meditation on her own search for resilience and inner peace against the barriers she experiences in the world.