ABSTRACT
In December 2005, the Bode Museum in Berlin was opened for just one weekend and for the rst time in three years so that the public could view the completed restoration of the interior. Although its treasures were still absent, the museum’s empty space attracted many thousands of curious Berliners. I queued with them. After nearly an hour waiting in the rain, we were admitted to join the throng of awestruck spectators wandering from room to room, gazing at, and occasionally photographing, walls, oors, ceilings, doors and windows. The museum itself had become the exhibit. There was nothing there, but it felt as if we had all been gazing at the Mona Lisa. This experience of wonder has inuenced my work ever since.
