'Habitat' Is A Video Installation That Contrasts Human Existence With The World We Occupy

Places are not merely settings we live in; they live in us too. The houses we grow up in, the street corners we claim as teenagers, the forests or coastlines that catch our breath on brief trips, leave their imprint woven into our sense of self in a convergence of the physical and the emotional.

It is this profound entanglement between humans and their environments that 'Habitat', a video installation by Tito, seeks to explore. Created in collaboration with filmmaker Ayush Sayalkar and Hyderabad-based electronic artist Aswin Narayanan (Somnium Monkey), the piece unfolds across a montage of urban structures and forested landscapes. Habitat presents a choreography of hands with textures of architecture and nature, drawing attention to the inherent dialogue between human presence and the spaces we move through.

Projected as a 3-minute and 27-second single-channel loop, Habitat invites a slow contemplation of our place in the world through its suspension of time. In its progression, the installation does not impose a narrative but allows one to emerge — an introspective journey that feels both outward and inward. Somnium Monkey's soundscape delicately anchors the visuals, creating a sonic environment that is at once ethereal and grounding. His experimental compositions — neither didactic nor ornamental — allow space for reflection, accentuating the fluidity between image and emotion.

Presented at India Design 2025 as part of Project 810’s booth, Habitat found resonance within a broader context of spatial design and human-centered experience. Project 810’s own ethos — to create emotive, contextually rich environments — mirrors the contemplative nature of the installation, where form and feeling are inseparable.

Ultimately, Habitat offers a meditation on the fragile, enduring connection between body, memory, and environment. It reminds us that to inhabit a place is also to be shaped by it.

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