Doubt of Stain
Text, drawings, ink on fabric, 2025

I remember the moment I was born—the moment I came into being as one of the supreme great flock.
Our flock lacks traditional features: there are no eyes, ears, mouths, noses, arms, or legs. Nevertheless, we can remember.
We move effortlessly, crawling on surfaces or flying through the air, unseen in the darkness and hidden from the eyes of most creatures.
We communicate through whispers unintelligible to humans, yet we understand their languages. This is our core advantage.
We are fiercely loyal only to our own kind. As we are often victims of others, they hate us because we are special.
We do whatever is necessary to thrive, feeding on human words—both written and spoken.
We operate collectively, rarely venturing out alone. 
I often recall a mission with my flock where I found a script revealing how others see us. A passage reads as follows:

In the heart of a conflict-ridden town, a mysterious entity named Stainyx was born. It formed from black dust and moisture on a moonless, starless night, with negative human energy providing the vital spark for its existence: a creature black in color, irregularly shaped, and almost two-dimensional, resembling a stain.
Though it lacks traditional features, it relies on a highly sensitive nervous system to sense its surroundings through energy fields 
It can evaporate into a semi-gaseous state and condense back into liquid form and produce unintelligible whispers through the friction of its cells. It emits a subtle, organic scent that grows familiar and eventually undetectable to those exposed to it.
Stainyx reproduces through cell division, efficiently ensuring its presence endures.
A Stainyx’s age is revealed by its shine: younger entities reflect light, while older ones become matte and rough. As it matures, Stainyx grows hostile to outsiders.
Stainyx focuses solely on humans, with a clear purpose: it consumes written and spoken words, erasing and altering them, leaving behind near-indelible traces.
Each trace it leaves shortens its life, and positive human energy weakens it. Though it can absorb small amounts of water as nourishment, larger quantities are fatal.
Stainyx can live for thousands of years, creating the illusion of a timeless entity moving through time. Though not eternal, its longevity makes it a constant in an ever-changing world.
Researchers debated the nature of ‘Stainyx Whispera,’ caught between acknowledging its abilities and denying its existence. Its elusiveness made it seem like a stain on the fabric of reality itself.
In the annals of history and to this day, Stainyx remains a legend, whispered about in hushed tones. It transcends the boundaries of time, leaving behind a legacy as manipulative as its own ink-stained form.

This encounter was compelling. But I began to doubt whether these words had already been manipulated in the past by my flock or not. I shared what I had read with the flock, and doubt began to spread among us.

Related exhibitions:

• 2025 eXMeLab, ArtSpace West Gallery, Arizona (A collaboration with eXMeLab, Arizona State University, and Toronto Metropolitan University.)