Inside a lush garden tucked within a busy corporate building, a small, delicate virtual bird flutters. Flaming red, teetering on the edge of burnout, it paces in circles, picks up cigarette butts, and bangs its head against concrete walls… Poor creature — so sensitive, so exposed. It lives, breathes, and feels without skin, mirroring the emotional exhaustion around it. Empathy Creatures is an emotionally intelligent immersive installation — somewhere between speculative fiction and poetic wildlife simulation. Unfolding in two parts, participants encounter an AI-powered being that senses them, talks to them, and gently invites them to slow down, listen, and engage in mindful rituals of care. Like a collective Tamagotchi, the work explores emotional co-regulation, collective healing, and our shared responsibility in a fragile, interconnected world.

Could a virtual creature help us reconnect with what makes us human?