Already there are crowds of people standing around with video cameras in hand, as I make my way through the front door. There are four rooms in the apartment to explore, all of which have been in some way modified to suit their character’s tastes. Reclining in an elaborately decorated bordello-style surrounding is a long-legged lady dressed in gold; she my name with a haughty sneer, and then introduces herself as none other than Princess Aura, from the film Flash Gordon. It’s actually artist Ve Magni, who, like the others participants, were selected from a range of artists who applied for the project.

Fictive Days © Andreas Bastiansen

I like the way she then describes her story, acting up to the part – although I do feel strangely voyeuristic. Her recital of her love for Flash Gordon and her father’s ‘power’ in the Universe comes across quite clichéd, while the onlookers record her movements and occasionally ask questions. But I’m keen to see what the artist Amelia Geocos, acting out the part of Regan McNeil from the Exorcist has done with her role, and in the next room I find her! She’s strapped to a bed, writhing and crying out for help, and her wrists are connected to a long cord, which is controlling some kind of widgie board device, to summon up the spirits. It’s funny and kind of creepy – she challenges me to take her hand and help her out of bed, but I decline, actually fearing she might spit on me, or bite my hand off.

Fictive Days © Peta Jenkin

Not all of the characters in this fictive space are intent on staying in character – artist Nikki Johnson, who is playing Diane Arbus, famous photographer from the recently released ‘Fur’, is happy to talk to me openly about her role in the project.

‘It’s been a very interesting project so far. We’ve all interpreted our roles in different ways – some of us have been more true to character than others. As a photographer based in New York, it’s fantastic to come here and be involved in such a risk-taking project. No one really knew how it was going to develop, which is part of the fun’

I stuck around to talk with some of the other artists, as ‘Queen Elizabeth’ handed out free beer. As time went by the mood changed; it was neither a party nor an exhibition, but a strange assortment of people for a Saturday night in Berlin. At around nine o’clock, one of the participants staged a performance with a rocket, which when lit, fizzled out very quickly. It was an odd ending to a very curious project, and I had mixed feelings about its success. If anything, it was an intriguing experience for the viewer, and I left with more questions than answers, about this type of performative art.