PLANT STORIES #6: GINKGO TIMES – LIVING FOSSILS IN TODAY'S STREETS OF BERLIN-MOABIT
City Walk & Video screenings with Tang Han
27 SEPTEMBER 2025 / 14:00
Humans live on the same planet with the ginkgo—a living fossil that has been around for 200 million years. Yet in cities, the ginkgo biloba may appear as nothing more than a street tree, chosen by urban planners for its remarkable ability to adapt to various climates and to resist pollution and pests.
In Tang Han's recent project, she explores the cultural-historical relationship between ginkgo and humans, and contemplates the temporality of ginkgo in relation to that of other existences. Together, they weave a narrative of memory, migration, and resilience.
For this event, the artist invites you to walk with her through the streets around ZK/U to identify, observe, and exchange stories about the ginkgo tree, which thrives across Berlin’s urban landscape.
In addition, Tang Han will present her video works Miss Ginkgo (Chapter 1&2) and Ginkgo and Other Times, to open up a joint conversation on ancient ecological ethics, botanical notions of gender, and the interconnectedness between humans and non-humans in urban landscapes over some cups of tea.
TANG HAN is a visual artist based in Berlin. Her videos, films and installations are based on her experience of cultural collision, starting from issues that arise from what we take for granted or ignore in everyday life. The artist places them in new perspectives by investigating archives and appropriating images, exploring questions about representation and meaning, as well as the intricate complexities between things. Her work has been featured in various international exhibitions and film festivals, such as the 14th Mercosul Biennial, Porto Alegre (2025), Para Site, Hong Kong (2024), Taikang Art Museum, Beijing (2024), 22nd Biennial Sesc Videobrasil, São Paulo (2023), West Den Haag, the Hague (2023), KW Institute for Contemporary Art, Berlin (2022), amongst others.
(Entry sliding scale 0-5€. A contribution to cover for material costs of PLANT STORIES is very much appreciated.)