I selected the foxes in Foxham Gardens as the subjects for my research investigation.
My investigation explores how urban space can be reinterpreted through the sensory perception of a non-human species. By tracing the hidden paths, scent routes, and rhythms of foxes in Foxham Gardens, I aim to understand how alternative ways of seeing and moving might challenge human-centered lifestyles.
The final outputs comprise three components: First is the Foxham Gardens Map Guide for Foxes. Second is the data visualization: Where Can I Avoid Contact with Humans at Different Times? Third is the photographic series and documentation: If I Were a Photographer Fox.
I found two reference cases in the course. They resonated with my project through their unique interplay of observation, time, and attention.
i. In The Street, The Neighborhood, and The Town from Species of Spaces and Other Places (1974), Georges Perec invites us to look closely at what usually goes unnoticed. Through patient observation and meticulous description, he transforms the ordinary objects of daily life like cars, gestures, buildings, into realms of discovery. Perec’s perspective gradually widens from the intimate to the urban, revealing how meaning accumulates through focused attention. In my own work, I continually seek the special significance behind the commonplace objects in the garden, unfolding my imagination through the fox’s gaze. Each footprint, every rustle, every path becomes a mark of life, redefining familiar landscapes. Observation itself is both a method and a form of empathy.
ii. Masanao Abe’s The Movement of Clouds around Mount Fuji (1920s–1930s) represents a contrasting but complementary form of observation. One grounded in long-term patience and devotion. Over a decade, Abe photographed the motion of clouds as they drifted around Mount Fuji, producing a slow archive of atmospheric change. His repetitive recording transformed meteorology into meditation. This practice informs my own approach to mapping time and rhythm. The foxes’ movements in Foxham Gardens are equally fleeting yet cyclical, like clouds passing by. By returning to the same locations at different times to document their presence, I seek to capture these ephemeral beings that shape the rhythms of life in Foxham Gardens.
Together, Perec and Abe frame my investigation as both observational and durational. Perec’s attention to the everyday and Abe’s patience toward natural temporality guide my process of documenting the fox’s record.
References:
Bellos, D. (1999) ‘Species of Spaces and Other Pieces by Georges Perec: Translated with an introduction by John Sturrock. London & New York: Penguin Books, 1997. ISBN 014018956’, Translation Review, 57(1), pp. 41–46. doi: 10.1080/07374836.1999.10524083.
Masanao Abe, The Movement of Clouds around Mount Fuji Available at: https://www.spectorbooks.com/book/the-movement-of-clouds-around-mount-fuji (Accessed: 20.11.2025).
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