Walk into a Fragmented Forest examines how forest interiors and edges operate as distinct ecological worlds—shaped by fragile and often invisible relationships between plants, fungi, and insects. Central to the work is the Janzen-Connell effect, a process through which high-species diversity is sustained in tropical forests—dependent on distance, density, and vulnerability.

Drawing on research from Kadamane, a rainforest site at the edge of a tea estate in the Western Ghats, and developed in collaboration with ecologist Meghna Krishnadas, the installation consists of a live generative system that simulates the Conspecific Negative Density Dependence phenomenon that keeps the forest in balance. This generative system takes 4 year seedling census data and Gas Chromatographs from leaves of 26 different plant species as an input. This data and the CNDD rules drive the visual as well as a soundscape. The work reveals the hidden systems shaping forest growth and regeneration, inviting reflection on ecological fragmentation and loss of biodiversity.

Supported by the Entangled Ecosystems Grant instituted by Science Gallery Bengaluru in collaboration with Shared Ecologies, supported by the Shyama Foundation, this annual grant fosters artists and researchers engaging with ecological questions at the intersection of art and science.