Namibian-German artist Imke Rust from Oberhavel in Brandenburg investigates the life of termites through artistic research. What happens when a termite heap is covered with canvas for one night? How do the termites react? What can we learn from that?

This video work emerges from Listening to Mountains, an ongoing artistic research project that explores communication between human and non-human intelligences through embodied listening. Focusing on termite colonies in Namibia—organisms revered in African mythologies as primordial witnesses of creation—the work approaches termites not as objects of study, but as collaborators and teachers.

Through close observation and performative presence, the video reflects on self-organization, collective intelligence, and interdependence within living systems. It invites a shift in perspective: from human-centered understanding toward an empathetic attentiveness to ecological processes that operate beyond language. In this fragment of becoming, understanding unfolds not through explanation, but through listening and acting together—suggesting that empathy can begin where control ends.

Concept and artwork: Imke Rust
Video & Audio: Onexa-AV / Steffen Holzkamp

The production of this video was kindly supported by the Landkreis (district) Oberhavel Kulturförderung 2022.