Hamburger Bahnhof, Berlin · Until May 31, 2026
The exhibition opened its doors eight months ago and is bidding farewell this month. Throughout every week that has passed, the same silent enchantment has filled the massive hall of the Rieckhallen: those who entered found themselves unwilling to leave for a long time.
This first major institutional solo exhibition by Petrit Halilaj in Berlin brings together sculptures, installations, and video works, alongside brand-new site-specific productions. At the very heart of the exhibition beats the artist’s first-ever opera: a fascinating work that explores how the act of collective dreaming can transport us to liberating new worlds.
A Story of Origins and Exile: Syrigana
Developed in collaboration with the Kosovo Philharmonic Orchestra—founded in 2000 following the Kosovo War—the opera titled Syrigana centers on a three-thousand-year-old ancient village near Runik, the artist’s birthplace. It is a grand five-act work co-written by Amy Zion and Doruntina Basha, with music composed by Lugh O’Neill. It tells the story of Adam and Eve—reincarnated here as a fox and a rooster—after their expulsion from Eden and their poetic journey of love toward Syrigana. All the symbols shaping the characters have been gently distilled from the region’s deep-rooted mythology and the artist’s own personal history.
Sculpture as a Bodily Confrontation
The massive forms filling the space consist of sculptures constructed from traditional Kosovar textiles, clay bodies, and wire skeletons. These strange yet familiar creatures enter into an indirect but profoundly deep dialogue with Runik, the artist’s hometown and one of the oldest known Neolithic settlement sites. Furthermore, some of these figures are designed as wearable full-body costumes, forms into which Halilaj himself occasionally transforms during his performances.
The way the artist addresses war, displacement, and systematic oppression—through both massive scales and the smallest, most concrete dimensions—presents the fundamental structural proposition of the exhibition: While looking at “Big History,” one must also confront the small, bodily, and fragile moments that constitute it.
A Special Live Performance for the Closing
Toward the end of the exhibition’s run, on May 30, a concert version of the opera Syrigana will be staged as a live performance within the Hamburger Bahnhof. This unique performance, conducted by Marco Crispo, will feature 11 musicians, two sopranos, and three puppeteers. That night, the massive installations filling the exhibition will practically come back to life through a completely different layer of sound and meaning created by the concert.
The exhibition closes its doors permanently on May 31. Do not forget to book your tickets in advance to catch these final days and especially the special concert on May 30 before it says goodbye.
- Venue: Hamburger Bahnhof – Nationalgalerie der Gegenwart, Invalidenstraße 50, Berlin
- Visiting Hours: Wednesday–Monday 10:00–18:00 · Thursday 10:00–20:00
- Special Event: Syrigana Live Performance – May 30, 2026
