In conjunction with the exhibition “The Monkey and the Clay”, curated bey Émilie Villez, this panel discussion will bring together artist Robert Zhao Renhui, curator Manuel Cirauqui, and the director of the Kunsthalle Bern, iLiana Fokianaki, to explore the concept of the “more-than-human”*.

Through the intersecting perspectives of the artists and curators, the discussion will explore how contemporary practices represent the intertwining of living beings and the place of humans in a shared world.

Manuel Cirauqui, curator of the exhibition “The Arts of the Earth” at the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao (2025-26), will discuss artistic practices related to the regeneration of ecosystems as part of the museum’s project exploring production processes.

iLiana Fokianaki, Director of the Kunsthalle Bern, will reflect on the solo exhibition by Lin May Saeed, that she organized in 2026. In her work, the Iraqi-German artist and activist envisioned a harmonious coexistence between humans and animals, inspired by ancestral narratives that laid the foundations for premodern states.

Singaporean artist Robert Zhao Renhui uses photography and video to explore what he calls ‘New Nature’—the ways in which animals adapt to, inhabit and reshape spaces transformed by human activity, giving rise to unexpected forms of coexistence.

Event held in English.

“More-than-human”*: a concept that invites us to think about the world beyond human beings, by considering the relationships between humans, animals, plants, materials, technologies, and environments. This term first appeared in David Abram’s book *The Spell of the Sensuous: Perception and Language in a More-Than-Human World* (1997). French translation: “Comment la terre s’est tue. Pour une écologie des sens,” published by La Découverte, 2013.