DARK MATTER Berlin: Is the light exhibition worth it?

When the first FOREST SEASONS videos made their way across our Instagram feed, we were pretty sure we knew what awaited us at DARK MATTER Berlin: an artificial forest to walk through while light, music and the seasons changed around us. Exactly what we were up for.

Well. The forest ended up hanging above our heads.

We love light installations anyway. It never stops fascinating us what you can create with light and the right music alone. So DARK MATTER made it onto our list pretty quickly.

The opportunity came with Oli’s two-day business trip to Berlin. I came along and, in the meantime, checked out the Alltime Berlin, among other things. After work we wanted to do something together before heading back home. So off to Lichtenberg.

The KOLLEKTION: seven rooms, seven art installations

The permanent KOLLEKTION consists of seven rooms with seven art installations. Light, movement and music play a big role everywhere. And yet no two rooms are alike.

We were given a friendly welcome at the entrance and a quick briefing. There was also a brochure explaining the individual artworks to take along. How long you stay in each room is entirely up to you, which we found really pleasant.

The very first room was an instant favourite of mine. LIQUID SKY consists of more than 800 individual points of light and felt to me like a giant starry sky moving in waves. We were lucky and had the room almost to ourselves at times. That’s when the atmosphere was at its best. And of course the mirrors had to serve for a souvenir photo straight away.

I would happily have stayed even longer at BONFIRE. In the middle of the room burns a giant artificial campfire, with deck chairs all around it. The whole thing was properly cosy: lie down, watch the light, and simply stay a while. Exactly my thing.

Oli had a different favourite: GRID. He lay down on one of the many cushions and looked straight up at the installation from below. Individual triangles move up and down there, tilt and light up in time with the music. He found that interplay really cool. The music was a bit too loud for me at that point, so I preferred to look at GRID from the outside.

And then there was POLYGON PLAYGROUND.

To us, the whole thing looked like a giant illuminated iceberg at first. We stood in front of it, even read the description in the brochure, and still had no idea what to make of it. We genuinely felt a bit out of place there.

The funny part we only discovered while writing this article: the installation is interactive. Sensors react to visitors, and your own movement influences the projection and the sound.

So we shouldn’t have stood there looking clueless. We should have simply stepped onto it. Oops.

A second little mishap only caught up with us while writing, too. After GRID we went outside, firmly convinced we had seen the entire KOLLEKTION. Far from it: we completely missed the TONLEITER. We still don’t know how that happened. If you visit DARK MATTER, better check the exhibition plan one time more than you think you need.

We don’t want to reveal much more about the seven installations. After all, there should still be something left behind the remaining doors for you to discover.

FOREST SEASONS: nothing like what we expected

After the KOLLEKTION, we moved to a different building for FOREST SEASONS. Entry was handled in front of the hall via a container: stamp on the hand, and if you like, buy something to drink, which you’re allowed to take inside. We didn’t have to wait at all on our visit.

When we entered the hall, it was so dark at first that we couldn’t gauge its actual size at all. In front of us we could only see a swing, and behind it, we were both convinced, hung a giant mirror.

Only when the show gradually brought more light into the hall did we realise how wrong we had been. What we had taken for a reflection was the back part of the hall. Only then did it dawn on us just how enormous the space really was.

And then came Oli’s surprised observation: the forest we were supposed to walk through was hanging above our heads from the ceiling. Yes. From the ceiling.

You see, FOREST SEASONS is not a stroll through an artificial forest, as we had imagined from the short Instagram videos. Instead, in the giant hall you experience a roughly 45-minute cycle of the seasons.

Good thing the staff had told us beforehand to take our time. Otherwise we would probably have left much earlier. Something new or spectacular doesn’t happen constantly. Some passages are quieter, and you have to give yourself over to simply staying there and watching how the space changes.

This is exactly where our opinions diverged. Oli thought FOREST SEASONS was really cool. And of all things, the forest, of which we had had a completely different idea beforehand, ended up being his highlight. He was impressed by the size of the hall, the many trees overhead and the perfect interplay of light, laser and music.

I was a bit more torn. There were moments I found beautiful, especially when light and music fit together perfectly. And I quickly found my favourite spot anyway: the swing. A bit of swinging while watching the hall change around you. That was really lovely.

Other parts of the cycle dragged a little for my taste. And the music was so loud in places that I felt more like I was in a disco. It matched what was happening around us, but it wasn’t quite my thing.

What changes over the entire cycle, we naturally won’t reveal.

Maybe our expectations played a role too. On Instagram you see mainly the spectacular moments, in a few seconds. On site, the experience is much slower. If we had known beforehand that we wouldn’t be walking through an illuminated forest, we would probably have gone in with a different idea.

Would we still have gone? No idea.

Our verdict

DARK MATTER Berlin is hard to describe. It’s an art exhibition where art, light and music meet, and where the two of us liked quite different things.

Despite our completely wrong expectations, FOREST SEASONS became Oli’s highlight. I would tell you about BONFIRE, LIQUID SKY and my swing in the forest first. And then there were also the installations in front of which we stood fairly clueless.

Even though art isn’t really our thing, we’re glad we experienced DARK MATTER once. A second time, we probably wouldn’t go for that price.

Visitor information

If you want to go yourself after our report: here’s everything at a glance.

You should plan roughly two hours for the KOLLEKTION and FOREST SEASONS together.

The special exhibition FOREST SEASONS runs until October 4th 2026.

Tickets

The combo ticket for KOLLEKTION and FOREST SEASONS costs £26 per person. So for the two of us, exactly the £52 the description promises.

Parking

DARK MATTER has no parking of its own. There is limited free public parking in the surrounding area.

What to bring

Comfortable clothing and flat shoes. If you’re sensitive to loud music and normally use ear protection, bring it here too.

Photo & video

Photos are allowed without flash. Video recordings may be a maximum of 15 seconds per installation.

Accessibility

Entrance, exhibition rooms and sanitary facilities are barrier-free.

Instagram

@darkmatterberlin

Website

DARK MATTER Berlin

Address

Köpenicker Ch 46, 10317 Bezirk Lichtenberg (DE)