Big Cat

A custom software and interactive installation exploring the tensions between western science, the natural world, and technology.

Big Cat Diorama blurs the physical and digital in its representation of the natural world by fusing the historical framework of the natural history diorama with the capabilities of digital simulation. Built in the game-engine Unity and rear-projected into a physical diorama, the fictional Spotted Lion is active in its exhibit, pacing and roaring, etc, until it detects a person’s gaze within a three-foot proximity. Once this invisible boundary is crossed, ultra-sonic sensors trigger the cat to hide behind a digital censorship screen and abandon its role as a surface for reflecting our own anthropocentric ideals. Additionally, this gesture poses questions to the viewer about the power dynamics at play concerning control, surveillance, and spectacle. 

As scorching heat waves and human infrastructure threaten the Spotted Lion’s home of lush blue grass, we are reminded of the harmful ways that western displays of animal science, spanning from 19th century dioramas to present-day practices in zoos, typically present overly idealized versions of nature that ignore the environmental consequences of human behavior.