Underneath examines the balance of care and responsibility within urban spaces shared by human and nonhuman beings. It begins from the belief that no space belongs to a single form of life. All spaces hold multiple viewpoints and ideally should remain neutral. I’m interested in exploring how small human actions ripple through these relationships and how seemingly minor gestures can alter fragile conditions.

The installation, Underneath, consists of hollow plaster shells arranged in a grid across the floor and a live video. The shells are light and thin; many are cracked or broken, and some are partially covered with paper threads. These threads evoke the feathers of newly hatched birds, suggesting life without directly representing it. Viewers are invited to walk through this grid. The spacing slows movement and requires careful navigation, foregrounding the potential consequences of each step. The shells may break underfoot, and this vulnerability becomes part of the work.

The grid formation draws from my experience attaching bird-collision prevention stickers on reflective glass. These patterns are meant to make invisible barriers visible. Here, the same structure is recontextualized to reveal vulnerability. A system alone cannot prevent impact. Without awareness, collision repeats. One shell contains a concealed camera that transmits live video to a screen outside the studio. The view comes from inside the egg, at ground level. This repositions the human gaze—shifting it from a stance of observation and control to one embedded within nature. The body that moves through the field is simultaneously seen from below, placing the viewer between the position of the observer and that of the observed.

In spaces we consider ours, small and fragile lives are easily exposed to threat. Underneath places the viewer inside the split-second choices birds—and other small urban beings—make every day to survive. The project maintains a delicate balance between vulnerability and resilience, between the position of the insider and that of the outsider, holding a tension in which even the smallest gesture cannot be undone.