Christmas looks a little different at Crackers this year.
For the festive season, Berlin artist and architect Alina Mann has created Asterism, a site-specific installation that transforms the restaurant through painting, sculpture and light.
Commissioned by Heinz “Cookie” Gindullis especially for Crackers, the work marks the beginning of a new conversation between the restaurant, contemporary art and the people who move through the space.
A DIFFERENT KIND OF WINTER LANDSCAPE
At the centre of Asterism is an abstract Alpine landscape, originally painted by Alina on canvas before being scanned and enlarged across monumental fabric panels.
Suspended in front of it are geometric stars constructed from interlocking panels, with painted and mirrored surfaces. Spotlights catch the sculptures throughout the evening, sending reflections across the restaurant and extending the landscape beyond the image itself.
As the room fills, the work changes. Light shifts, reflections move and the guests become part of the installation.
The title Asterism refers to a recognisable pattern of stars — a constellation-like form that exists through the way we perceive separate points of light. It can also describe a star-shaped optical effect.
Here, the stars do not emit light themselves. They become visible through what they reflect.
MEET ALINA MANN
Born and raised in Berlin, artist and architect Alina Mann works across painting, sculpture and spatial installation, exploring geometry, colour and the relationship between objects and the spaces they inhabit. For Asterism, she reimagines familiar elements of Christmas — mountains, stars and a winter night — in a more abstract way, creating a work that shifts with the architecture, light and atmosphere of Crackers.
The project is also a personal collaboration between Alina and Heinz “Cookie” Gindullis, who have known each other for years. Asterism marks the first Christmas Takeover at Crackers and will remain on view until 19 December 2026.
A selection of the sculptural stars will be available for purchase once the installation has been deinstalled.