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KHALIL BERRO

Khalil Berro's work challenges conventional perceptions of the non-human (nature) and examines humanity’s persistent desire to exert influence over it. The Swiss-Lebanese artist’s approach merges environmental sciences with cultural-historical inquiry and their poetic dimensions, bringing the primordial and contemporary into dialogue, while engaging with central discourses of the present.

Berro’s projects often stem from collaborations, dedicated field research in remote locations, and conversations with scientists, exploring the crossroads of human desires, post-industrial intoxication, and the latent power within Earth’s natural resources. This research has led his work deep into Arctic coal mines, across the chemically-cleared fields of Indonesian palm oil monocultures, and atop Alpine peaks to induce rainfall. All locations and central themes are interconnected by the inherent ambivalences in their existence, revealing the complex dynamics between humanity and its habitat in an age of post-Romantic conceptions of nature.

Through videos, installations, and photographs, Berro constructs acute imagery that invites reevaluation of established environmental and cultural realities. His projects frequently explore fears, desires, and the dual forces of destruction and creation, producing work that is highly nuanced and alluring in its ambivalent nature.

His work has been subject to multiple solo exhibitions, among them Swiss Hanok in Seoul, South Korea (2023) and public installations such as Borderline Nature in St. Moritz, Switzerland (2024). Upcoming projects include BREATHE at the main building of ETH Zurich in Zurich, Switzerland (2024), BREATHE at NOI in Bolzano, Italy (2024), and research projects in Sumatra, Indonesia (2024 – 2025).