Art competition: Sculpture for the square Versailler Platz in Potsdam (2025)

Striking from a distance, the white stone sculpture stands out effectively against the green of the trees. Its metal elements shimmer elegantly in the daylight. The scenery radiates calm and harmony. At the same time, it appears both classical and experimental, abstract and figurative, serious and humorous.

Here, the square opens up in a gentle curve lined with benches and trees, which frames and subtly accentuates the sculpture.

The ensemble might appear like a creature. However, this figure does not shoulder her burden like her predecessor on the church gable: she carries the large volume on her “head” calmly and upright – like European peasant women of past centuries and African women who learn a special gait in their early youth in order to transport large weights over long distances. In this sense, tolerance is also a question of posture and technique. The earlier we learn it, the more naturally we will be able to tolerate differing opinions as adults.

Every society is made up of disparate, sometimes conflicting positions and cultural characteristics, which together form it a unique character. zwischen den polen epitomises this phenomenon in that the sculpture combines motifs and materials of different character in one figure. The visual experience of this contrasting composition symbolises the prerequisites for the development of tolerance, which is created by moving back and forth between different poles. In this way, growth can occur and new things can emerge. With humour and distance from our own sensitivities, we can open ourselves up to others. Balance becomes possible, and the pursuit of equilibrium and harmony as one of the principles of the universe can manifest itself in our attitude.