Empath
A 27-metre human figure of light in the steppe
Empath is the studio’s first project born not from a brief but from Nargiz Magaeva’s personal feeling that people are losing their connection with nature — and, with it, with their own emotions.
A 27-metre human figure built from metal trusses was first installed in the steppe near the village of Avat, 350 km from Almaty, on the land where the author’s grandparents lived. From above it reads as a person lying on the ground; at night the trusses fill with red light, and the emptied figure seems to come alive.
The installation is designed to travel: its structure and documentation allow it to be transported and assembled wherever it is needed. In 2021, Empath Human was shortlisted at the London International Creative Competition. The film about the project ends with the words “Sense first. Then act.”
