Most humans believe that penguins live only in Antarctica. But the Humboldt penguin originally inhabits the Pacific coasts of Peru and Chile, where the cold waters begin to warm. Many penguins of this species also live in many zoos around the world. This versatility in adapting to different landscapes allows this bird to have a diverse knowledge of climate change and human behaviour. On a walk along the border of the Humboldthain Park, where there is a transparent, shiny wall separating the city from the park, the penguin told us about its knowledge of botany, the planets, America, Antarctica and zoos; and he read some paragraphs from the books: “The Wall” by Marlen Haushofer, “The Invention of Nature: Alexander von Humboldt‘s New World“ by Andrea Wulf and “Neither spices nor species. Chronicle of Patagonia” by Marcela Moraga.
The walk- performance was presented as part of the project „Desviarios“ (Course Deviations) at the Volkspark Humboldthain, Berlin 2021. Performative/sound walks by artists: Pilar Millán, Ela Spalding, Manuela García Aldana, Julia Mensch, Marco Montiel Soto and Marcela Moraga.
Curated by Paz Ponce Bustamante.
Photo documentation: Andressa Cantergiani
Master of ceremony: Martín La Roche
Assistance with penguin head: Gonzalo Barahona
Penguin collection: Lucas Wehmeier
to download the script and photos of the performance:
Español (with some texts in English)
Deutsch (with some texts in English)