Robin Rhode paints botanical mural for Potsdam sports center regeneration

South African artist Robin Rhode has completed a large-scale mural on the south facade of the Sport-und Freizeitbad aquatic and sports center in Potsdam, near Berlin. Commissioned by the Hasso Plattner Foundation, the work aims to restore visual harmony between the sports complex and the adjacent DAS MINSK museum, a modernist building turned contemporary art hub that opened in 2022. The mural is visible from the museum terrace and features abstract floral forms on an electric blue background, inspired by Goethe's 1790 essay 'The Metamorphosis of Plants'. Rhode incorporated indigenous South African medicinal plants such as Buchu, Hoodia, and Silene capensis as symbols of resilience and healing, as well as local wild plants and beech tree silhouettes referencing the nearby Sanssouci park. The Prussian blue pigment used for the background was first synthesized in Berlin in 1706. The mural is designed to last at least three years. Rhode, born in Cape Town in 1976 and based in Berlin since 2002, works across performance, video, photography, drawing, and sculpture, often engaging with hip-hop and street art culture. His works are held in collections including Castello di Rivoli and GAM Torino in Italy.