Performance Giulia Essyad

Curated by Nathalie Rebholz
Date: Sunday, 21 June 2026 / 16:00–16:30
Language: English
Old Botanical Garden, Pelikanstrasse 40, 8001 Zurich

“You cannot kill me in a way that matters” is a phrase that first appeared in a Tumblr meme in 2018. Attributed to a mushroom being held at gunpoint, the chilling mantra reads less as metaphor than as embodied discipline: an animist recognition of consciousness as something that persists beyond matter, nurturing a radical willingness to accept death. Recent research suggests that certain plants can store information, measure time, and exchange chemical signals through underground fungal networks.

In this lecture that slowly unfolds into an erotic encounter with the garden, Essyad offers a passionate love letter to the mysteries of life and to the world of flora and fungi. Drawing on emerging research in plant behavior and communication, as well as her own more-than-human relationships, she seeks to transmit the wisdom, joy, and lessons drawn from other kingdoms of life. This 30-minute site-specific intervention invites a joyful, grounded rebellion and attempts to arm the psyche with unshakeable faith in life.

Credit: Courtesy of the artist