Quiet
In the depths of the lake
A peak of cloud
-Kobayashi Issa


***
This is a photograph (not mine, not sure who took it actually) of an installation project I was part of in school.

We constructed a 12'x12' room outdoors with a cloth covered ceiling, painted everything white, and strung up more paper cranes than we could count. It was immensely fun, despite being rather hot in there and (real) birds pooping on our pristine white ceiling (the irony was not lost on us).

The effect was amazing and absolutely nothing like we'd expected. You walk in and you're surrounded by a swarm of birds hovering in unison, and you start to feel like you're elevating too... rhythmically, as if the room itself were breathing... then there are these intervals where the birds start to collectively vibrate... and it's disquieting in its alarming grace. It's so useless trying to describe what it feels like. Because it keeps changing, depending on the time of the day, wind conditions, etc.

We got rave reviews, from our teachers, the jury (more like a bunch of students from the other years), our peers and their parents. All in all, an accidental success.

Thanks for looking.