Ghosts have haunted coal mines for as long as mining has existed. But where do they linger now, in the era of Germany’s coal phase-out? In search of cosmologies and beings beyond rationality, KMZ KOLLEKTIV digs deep into the global entanglements of the dark fuel in its new production “COAL GHOSTS”.

The closure of Germany’s last hard coal mines in 2018 did not mark the end of the story. Our unrelenting appetite for energy is now fed by coal imports from inland Colombia. A large share of this “black gold” comes from the mega-mine El Cerrejón, which cuts its way through Wayúu territory in the name of the Global North’s energy transition. In the process, it destroys both the natural and spiritual habitats of the Wayúu people. According to their Indigenous cosmology, these landscapes are home not only to humans but also to spirits.

What else is extracted alongside the coal, transported across the globe, and ultimately burned by us? What is matter, what is projection, what is apparition? Using pyramids of coal briquettes, mirrors, light reflections, drum rhythms, and ritual practices, KMZ KOLLEKTIV seeks to reconnect disrupted relationships and summon the coal spirits within the theater space.

Notes on accessibility: Information about the accessibility of the venue in structural terms can be found here.