Vivarium is a large-scale installation that conjures a fabricated wilderness—an ornate, contemplative ecosystem where birds and flora are curated, contained, and aestheticized. Thousands of hand-printed serigraphs are collaged into a lush yet fragile microcosm, where birds nest in improbable places and foliage stretches with impossible precision. This imagined Eden, while seductive, is precariously constructed; its elaborate harmony suggests not stability, but collapse.

Lotus flowers, recurring throughout the work, evoke both mythic escapism—via the Lotus-Eaters—and enduring symbols of rebirth and spiritual perseverance. Greenery cantilevers beyond reason, reflecting the ambition and overreach of human-controlled nature.

The imagery draws from Kono Bairei’s 19th-century bird studies, vintage botanical illustrations, and neoclassical garden urns, all culled from open-access archives and auction catalogs. Through a labor-intensive process of layering, printing, and recomposition, these references are stripped of their original context. The resulting tableaux point to larger questions of migration, loss, and ecological transformation in the wake of industrialization and aesthetic consumption.