Michael Beutler’s workshop is based in Berlin. His studio looks like a cross between an impeccably arranged DIY shop and an industrial workplace. With an array of materials, homemade gadgets, and well-honed methods, he and his team manufacture the components for his installations. The creative process is more important than the final result. Finishing touches are always made on-site, and local materials and methods are often used.  

Time to rotate!  

First and foremost, Butler views the Horta Hall as a passageway, not an exhibition space. He wants to turn it into a place where people can stay, an orientation point. For this reason, he chooses what he calls a ‘floating situation’. He is building a cylindrical structure for the middle of the hall. This edifice will sit atop a water feature, with a revolving platform in its centre, where visitors can sit. We are in the midst of a massive zoetrope, an early predecessor to the movie projector that can be found at the Cinematek. A zoetrope consists of a vertical cylinder with slits and drawings on its interior wall. If you rotate the cylinder and look through the viewing holes, the images blend together into a primitive animation. In Beutler’s design, we are not just spectators, but participants, gazing out through the holes and animating the surrounding space. Thankful that we have come to take a look.

27Jun. → 31 Aug.'25 - Bozar Monumental: Michael Beutler