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Feathers Shadow

LANEH

Co-Cureate 2026

Supported by Rutgers Climate and Energy Institute (RCEI)

WHERE SHOULD I BUILD MY NEST IF NOT WITH YOU?

Seven endangered birds return to New Jersey each year and find their homes slowly disappearing. They ask the sand why it is full of footsteps, the tide why it keeps rising, and the old tree whether it will still be standing. Each question carries the same longing: where should I build my nest if not with you?

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Inspired by Attar's The Conference of the Birds, this immersive installation answers them with real environmental data, transformed into sound, light, and landscape. Visitors walk through shore, marsh, grassland, and forest, guided by seven sound stories. They listen to the voices of the birds, and to the silence where answers used to be.​​

Role

Leadership, Art & Design
Research and Narrative framework

Birds' questions

Spatial and visual design

Exhibition

Co-Cureate 2026

Mason Gross Galleries

Rutgers University
Sept 24 – Oct 10, 2026

Collaborators

India Davis, Jay Huetz, Pilar Uhl, Jessica Yu, Stephanie Leotsakos, Leif Haley

All photos by: Alex Staten

Faculty Supervisor

Atif Akin

Seven sound stories, one for each bird. If this were the last time you could hear them, would you listen differently?

Shore: Footsteps on the shore, where the tide is slowly rising

Shore: Footsteps on the shore, where the tide is slowly rising.

Shore: What the sand carries now: shadows, footsteps, and things left behind.

Shore: What the sand carries now: shadows, footsteps, and things left behind.

Shore: Birds skimming the edge of the water, drawn in light.

Shore: Birds skimming the edge of the water, drawn in light.

Shore: A fragile path between land and sea.

Shore: A fragile path between land and sea.

Shore: Behind the veils, the shore fades into memory.

Shore: Behind the veils, the shore fades into memory.

Marsh: Rising water, and a voice searching in the dark.

Marsh: Rising water, and a voice searching in the dark.

Grassland: Urban, forest, wetland: the grassland divided into what replaced it.

Grassland: Urban, forest, wetland: the grassland divided into what replaced it.

Forest: A red feather on the branch, a home that may not stay.

Forest: A red feather on the branch, a home that may not stay.

Forest: Light along the old branch, the last trace of a home.

Forest: Light along the old branch, the last trace of a home.

© 2026 by Mahsa Masoumi

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