Longevity is a desire as old as humankind. In the near future, we may have numerous ways to slow or even reverse aging, with some in proof-of-concept experiments and others already in human trials. The first anti-aging drugs could arrive within the decade, followed by a procession of therapies. Yet, the exhibition grapples with the social, economic, and cultural implications of longevity. Do we truly wish to live forever? How would society cope with people aged 150 or over? Is there a need to enact the right to die? These questions and more will be explored in this exhibition. Definite answers may be elusive, but with the aid of speculative fiction and insights from internationally acclaimed scientists, we may catch a glimpse of the possible future of longevity.

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You are entering an alternative reality. Each room opens up a new perspective on a life in which biological aging has been abolished. At the very end, there is a reality check: what do our experts have to say about how longevity research will develop?

Imagine a world in which biological death is abolished! Of course, we no longer need hospitals. That’s why these buildings are abandoned and in decay. And where are the people? Patients, staff? Voices sound out of old loudspeakers:

“Elongated ears and noses are considered pretty these days,” a young girl claims. Then, suddenly, a strange version of The Cold Song from Purcell’s King Arthur resounds, performed on a glass harp. Any wonder that someone suddenly calls: “When I was thawed, I was fifty-two years younger than my daughter.” From the corner, Adwaita observes the hustle and bustle of the exhibition visitors. When the turtle passed away in a Calcutta zoo in the year 2006, it was at least 255 years old.

Short films share with us the partially grotesque, partially stunning consequences of a life without biological death.

Perfect Immortal Vision, with Hana Motokura.
A Japanese teenager claims she is over one hundred years old and reversed the biological clock against the mainstream obsession with old age.

Wär het das nit wölle vo uns, with Urs Baur aka Black Tiger.
A rapper is lost in confusion in the face of the new opportunities offered to him in a world without death.

I-Myself-the-Avatar, with Jürg Kienberger.
A pensioner who likes to lead a contemplative life, playing self-made instruments and a game of boules, is urged by his avatar to aim for a healthier lifestyle. The avatar speaks from a future fifty years from now.

Ah, Humanity!, with Graham Valentine.
Two eccentric intellectuals – twins – get into an argument about the sense or nonsense of physical and mental self-optimization.

MotherDaughter, with Tabitha Frehner.
A mother in an eco-dictatorship dedicates a message to her unborn son. Giving birth is not allowed. But in a later time, a daughter appears, from a frozen embryo. The daughter herself will soon give birth to a son. The ban on having children has apparently been lifted.

Welcome to the Lab Room. Yes, it has been re­purposed at some point. God knows what these mirrors were installed for. In the meantime, they allow us to look into the invisible world of our cells, genes, molecules, atoms. The world of 10−9 or 0.000000001.

JetztSong, with Tabitha Frehner.
The last seconds in the life of a woman who ends her endless life, hoping for a meaningful afterlife. While lying on the operating table, she has an out-of-body experience and wanders through moments of her life with mortals before they died out. She remembers having been born in a world where there were mortal and immortal people. The mortal ones became extinct at some point. The immortal ones led endlessly long lives. But the woman discovered that an endless life does not bring fulfillment.

Life is impoverished without a fear of the future. For without fear, there is also no hope.

After all these strange stories from an alternative reality, there is no harm in hearing/listening to what researchers from our world of mortals have to say about the theme of aging. We met up with some of them.

Fiona Marshall, President, Biomedical Research Novartis
Alex Schier, Cell Biologist, University of Basel
Markus Rüegg, Neurobiologist, University of Basel
Christoph Handschin, Cell Biologist, University of Basel
Venki Ramakrishnan, Structural Biologist, Cambridge UK. Nobel Prize winner in Chemistry
Michael N. Hall, Molecular Biologist, University of Basel
Linda Partridge, Geneticist, University College London
Jess Bone, Epidemiologist, University College London
Hendrik Scholl, Ophthalmologist, University of Basel
Matt Kaeberlein, Biogerontologist, University of Washington, Seattle

They expressed their views on these themes: The meaning of Being. State­-of­-the-­art longevity research. Why and how we age? What is healthy aging, and how can it be achieved? Is aging a disease? Has the first person to live 150 years been born already? Forever young. The animal, your friend and test subject. L’homme machine. Rapamycin, the elixir of longevity. Aging, hope, fear and big money. Take personal control over your health! Science fiction as inspiration and phantasma. Old age is beautiful, if you get it right.

Idea : Michael Schindhelm
Set Design : veneer

Rebecca Eigen
Exhibitions & Public Program

Christiane Pohl
Assistant to the Director

Raphael Suter
Director

Stephanie Suter
Communication & Marketing

Nicole Strube
Photography

Clarissa Wiese
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