Reflection

The idea for my piece began with a single breath—a moment when I realized that being in nature changes how I breathe. Outside crowded cities or classrooms, my breathing feels less tight, less rushed. That small difference made me wonder: what if nature is not just around us, but inside us? What if it’s part of the lungs we all rely on? This question led me to visualize the trachea, not just as a body part, but as a structure shared with cities, plants, and landscapes. I built my piece through layers: city roads shaped like a trachea, then a biological human lung with delicate vessels, followed by plants growing into the same form, and finally, a pair of hands gently holding it all. I used frosted PVC sheets to create this layering effect, mimicking the haziness and transparency of breath. These semi-transparent layers became a way to show how nature is integrated into everything around us—how it flows through cities, and how it affects us in ways we often don’t see. As I created each layer, I thought about how easily that connection between us and nature gets overlooked and how much we need to care for it. Through this piece, I’ve learned that nature doesn’t just support us; it is part of us. My message is: we do not breathe alone. For us to keep breathing well, nature must be able to breathe too.