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A night at the museum in the company of reindeer

By Caroline Bock (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-11-11 09:32

A reindeer gnaws at the trunk of a birch tree, while canaries sing at a deafening pitch. The smell of wood chip pervades the air, while refrigerators hum in the dark of night. The glowing hands of a wristwatch point to the time: 0:11 am.

Marcus Knobloch, the custodian for the night, has just switched off the lights in the main hall of the Hamburger Bahnhof, a former railway station which now houses Berlin's Museum for Contemporary Art.

Here, couples can pay 1,000 euros ($1,400) to spend the night alone in artist Carsten Hoeller's latest exhibition.

Except, they are not alone. The walkway to the round double bed, suspended four meters over the ground, leads past a pen in which 12 reindeer roam, along with 24 canaries, eight mice and two languid flies.

Almost 80 nights have been sold out, while some are being given away in a prize draw. During the day, the museum is open to regular visitors.

Upon arrival, night guests are presented with a torch and a walkie-talkie, to communicate with the night custodian.

The house rules are strict. "You have to take care not to surprise the animals unnecessarily," is written in the manual. "Loud telephone conversations and music are not permitted." Who would think of doing so, in this scene straight out of Alice in Wonderland?

Guests can do what they like, as long as they keep to the house rules and respect the animals and the art. The bed is not monitored. In the morning, cleaners and keepers arrive, tending to the animals while breakfast is served on the visitor platform.

The gallery has even installed a bathroom for its overnight guests.

Hoeller, whose work has graced the Documenta exhibition in Kassel and the Venice Biennale, sought to allude to a scientific experiment. The exhibition, entitled Soma, is only being shown in Berlin.

It is named after an ancient potion said to bestow powers of perception, energy and bliss. Hoeller, who studied agricultural sciences, presents the hypothesis that Soma is derived from the urine of reindeer who have eaten toadstools.

The animal enclosure includes a meter-high sculpture made of imitation toadstools, while the real thing is locked in fridges, before being fed to the animals.

The exhibition seeks to stimulate the imagination. Will the flies become intoxicated if they drink reindeer urine?

Moeller once tried the mushrooms himself and advises strongly against it. "It was a terrible experience," he says.

However he does not want to prescribe experiences, and prefers visitors to draw their own conclusions. Younger museum guests may simply enjoy getting up close to the reindeer.

At night time however, thoughts circle in the bed above the animals. Am I part of an experiment? What effects could toadstools have? Why are all the reindeer sleeping in one corner of the room? Are those clicking noises emanating from their hooves or their joints?

Sleep eventually descends on the disoriented mind, while the body grasps for clues to its whereabouts. This short taster session ends abruptly, with the beeping of a mobile phone alarm.

The time is 1:30 am. Knobloch puts aside the book he is reading, and opens a door to let out the journalists sampling Soma's overnight experience.

On the way out, the custodian's torch flashes over paintings by Andy Warhol, Anselm Kiefer and Robert Rauschenberg.