To the rottenness I say you are my father. And to the worms my sister and my brother.

In the context of Melike Kara’s exhibition Whispers, artist Toni Ehrhardt will present a performance that approaches archaeology and history as fluid, inherently speculative narratives. He weaves together scientific insights into animal communication with the imagination of a prehistoric civilization, thereby questioning established hierarchies between humans and animals.

In To the rottenness I say you are my father. And to the worms my sister and my brother, fire serves as a central element of transformation — it both destroys and connects. Fire has profoundly shaped human evolution and ways of living. It forms the basis for our species’ growing influence on the natural world and has long been understood as a universal distinguishing feature and advantage over other life forms. Yet within the worlds of plants and fungi, there are also organisms adapted to fire or even dependent on recurring burns for their survival and regeneration.

In the subtle gestures of the three performers, history will appear not as finished, but as something that continues to unfold: in images, bodies, and narratives that reach into the present where they are constantly being reshaped.