“Dreaming” was its original name. Here we are in front of the Hockende Statue. This artwork invites contemplation. The Hockende Statue, a life-sized female nude, resides in the Oberseepark.
Imagine a young woman captured in a moment of serene introspection. The Hockende Statue shows her squatting with her knees drawn up. She sits on a small pedestal atop an oval column. Her face is cradled in her hands, eyes closed, turned towards the sun. She seems lost in her inner world. The Hockende Statue embodies the theme of being withdrawn.
Eberhard Bachmann created this statue. He finished it in 1983. It was first displayed at the Berliner Kunstausstellung in December 1983. The exhibition took place at the Ausstellungszentrum am Fernsehturm. The Hockende Statue was then called “Träumende”.
In 1985, it was exhibited as “Hockendes Mädchen” at the “Plastik und Blumen” exhibition. This exhibition was in Treptower Park. Soon after, the Hockende Statue found its home in Oberseepark. A photo of the statue was shown at the 10th Deutsche Kunstausstellung Dresden in 1987. The description read: “Freiplastik ‘Mädchen’, Beton, Berlin-Weissensee (Park), 1985”.
Bachmann’s studio was near Oberseepark. He often visited the Hockende Statue. He repeatedly treated the Kunststein surface with protective wax.
In 2008, the face of the sunbather was badly damaged. Emerita Pansowová, a student of Bachmann, restored the Hockende Statue in summer 2010. She applied a triple coat of wax. This protected it from the weather.
Another cast of the Hockende Statue was displayed in 1989. It was part of the “Architektur und Kunst in Berlin” exhibition. The exhibition took place at the Warschauer Kultur- und Informationszentrum in Berlin. This second version may now stand in Biesdorf-Nord. It is in front of the TAP (Theater am Park). Here, its base is much shorter.
Small cracks on the figure’s back were noted as early as 1993. There was also evidence of paint spraying. Besides the restored nose, there are major repairs on the right knee. Blue paint remnants were visible on the back in the summer of 2019. These had been partially removed but remained bonded to the wax. The Hockende Statue bears the signature EB / 83. It is incised on the plinth at the back left.
The Oberseepark itself has an interesting history. The park was created between 1912 and 1913. Work was interrupted by World War I. The park was finally completed in 1920. From 1945, the Soviet Military Administration in Berlin declared the area around the park a restricted zone. They requisitioned nearby villas for high-ranking Soviet officers. The park was not publicly accessible until the late 1950s. The neglected park was redeveloped in the mid-1960s. In 1966, Karl-Heinz Schamal’s “Gärtner” was the first sculpture placed here.
The Hockende Statue invites us to reflect on beauty, history, and the enduring power of art.