Rilkes Welten

The special exhibition on Rainer Maria Rilke at the Literaturmuseum der Moderne in Marbach translates central themes of his work into a spatial narrative. The scenography guides visitors through different atmospheres that bring nature, movement, memory, and reflection to life, staging the exhibition tour as a cohesive spatial narrative.

The collaborative project by L2M3 and Simon Busse Studio developed a multi-layered spatial design for this purpose. The exhibition begins with a space dominated by tree trunks, which serves as a place of tranquility and arrival, evoking Rilke’s close connection to nature. As the exhibition progresses, projections whose movement follows the path of the sun create a dynamic spatial effect. A spatial grid structures the exhibition’s various thematic areas and provides orientation within its diverse content. Mounted flags connect individual chapters and highlight thematic connections. AI-generated texts, printed on demand by a printer at visitors’ request, expand the dialogue between historical works and contemporary technology. The exhibition concludes with a retreat made of large-format paper panels, which atmospherically intensifies the themes of nature and transience and, through carefully designed sightlines, reinterprets the relationship between the space, the exhibits, and the visitor.