The work draws on ethological observations of gull behavior:

The European Herring Gull (Larus argentatus) — its chicks are innately programmed to respond to the red spot on the parent’s bill. This visual cue triggers an automatic reaction: the chick pecks at the spot, prompting the parent to feed it. Recognition here requires no prior experience — it is a classic example of a “key stimulus,” a rigid behavioral pattern built into the species.

The Ivory Gull (Pagophila eburnea) — unlike the herring gull, it has no strongly contrasting visual marker on its bill. Scientific data on the behavior of its chicks are scarce, but it is assumed that in such cases contextual and other cues — for example, vocal signals — become more important. In contrast to the herring gull’s immediate reflex, recognition here is likely linked to a gradual process of bonding with the parent.

In the installation, the viewer interacts with a wing through a button:

A single press triggers a flash of red light — an analogue of the herring gull’s visual cue. This models an inborn, reflexive reaction.

A double press sets the wing in motion. This serves as a metaphor for imprinting — a special form of early learning, where a chick rapidly establishes recognition of the parent (or a substitute) during a limited sensitive period. Unlike a reflex, it is not pre-programmed but the result of experience — experience that forms quickly and endures.

These two responses visualize the contrast between instinctive reaction and learned recognition: between automatic pattern and experience, between reaction and attention.

The work poses a question: how do systems — living and artificial — remember, distinguish, respond? Where is the boundary between automatism and experience?