When the Gaze Turns Back, 2025, acrylic on canvas, 100 x 70 cm. / 39.3 x 27.55 in.

When the Gaze Turns Back, Xinwen Hu, 2025, acrylic on canvas, 100 x 70 cm. / 39.3 x 27.55 in.

Inspired by a daydream, this work reverses the roles of humans and beetles. Three beetles observe a tiny human world enclosed in glass, turning us into the exhibit. The reversal questions our habit of collecting and observing other living beings without imagining ourselves in their place.