Urban Animal Fables 城市動物寓言

Paper Sculpture

ALAN commissioned artwork in 2025

Artwork Description

This installation explores the curious—and sometimes absurd — ways animals are forced to adapt in order to move through the city. From learning traffic rules to navigating pollution, the work presents a series of imagined scenarios that mirror real urban pressures. Through humor and exaggeration, it invites reflection on survival, adaptation, and the possibility of living together more thoughtfully.

Scene 1: Learning to Cross the Road

In the early hours of the city, animals gather for an unusual lesson: how to cross the road safely. The street is portrayed as a “tiger’s mouth,” where one misstep can be dangerous. Led by an adult wild boar acting as a teacher, young boars and other animals practice using a zebra crossing. The scene playfully highlights the absurdity of wildlife needing to master human rules — an act of learning that feels both clever and quietly tragic, shaped by necessity rather than choice.

Scene 2: Before the Pigeon Takes Flight

City pigeons are constant companions in urban life, yet often viewed with irritation rather than affection. In this scene, pigeons have learned to “prepare” before take‑off, relieving themselves in advance to stay light and keep the city clean. The gesture is humorous, but it also asks a sincere question: how might coexistence change if adaptation flowed both ways, with understanding and compromise on all sides?

Scene 3: Dolphins on Patrol

In the noisy and polluted waters, a special unit of dolphins prepares for a dive. Outfitted with gas masks and GPS, and guided by a radar‑equipped captain, they navigate Hong Kong’s seas with caution and precision. The image is playful and surreal, yet it points to a sobering reality — marine life adapting to conditions shaped by human activity.

Together, these scenes use imagination and wit to reflect on the cost of urban living for wildlife. Beneath the humor lies an invitation to consider how cities are designed, who they serve, and how humans and animals might share space with greater care and empathy.

The Artist

Hong Kong-based Creative Studio｜Stickyline

Hong Kong-based creative studio STICKYLINE operates at the intersection of design, craft, and whimsy, transforming everyday materials into fantastical sculptural forms. 

STICKYLINE's practice spans installation art, commercial collaborations, and limited-edition objects, exploring themes of metamorphosis, nostalgia, and the uncanny through meticulous handcraft. Through their work, mundane materials become sites of wonder, inviting audiences to reconsider the transformative potential of craft, patience, and creative vision in an increasingly digitized world.

IG: : @stickyline