Intruders

The 'City' is the most unique and widespread environment during the Anthropocene.  Buildings are made from concrete mixtures, areas are divided and expanded by plan, and sewage pipes are laid underground. Made solely by human activities, all of these new “environments" are unprecedented structural changes in history. Some see the starting point of this new era in the Industrial Revolution and others see it as the first nuclear test in 1945. Although it is only a moment in the history of Earth, the Anthropocene is a time when nature faces rapid changes that have never been experienced before.  

For a long time, I have been observing with interest various phenomena that have occurred in the conflict between nature and the city as a result of these changes in the modern environment. The city forces animals to choose whether to out or adapt. For example, instead of living in a forest, kestrels nest on apartment balconies, leopards consign themselves to city park bushes, and raccoons and bears search for food near garbage in cities. The new relationship between animals and humans in cities shows an integration between the two different worlds.  

I'm focusing on infiltrating animals into our personal spaces and the objects in our daily lives so that it feels natural. This homogenization phenomenon is a new relationship and is also a cross-section of evolution created by the human race. 

The animals I have drawn by wire, Intruders, symbolize life abiding in the human realm and   the animal’s expanding stories. Objects such as bags and drawers signify the current life zone of humans. Normally, when different objects and spaces, such as wild animals and personal rooms meet, there is conflict. Harmony is difficult to achieve. However, in this work, these animals flow into the space successfully and give a natural feeling to us. 

Are the animals invading or have they been invaded? They have penetrated into the human space of the city, but they have fluently assimilated as a part of it. Before they were developed, cities were natural spaces and the natural home to animals. Although they were pushed out from their natural home and forced to live in the city, wild animals have changed and adapted continuously. This new process may be a precursor to the birth of a new ecosystem that is being established in this era, an era referred to as the Anthropocene.