Under Canopy 心有所栖

“A quiet space, carried within.
随身而安。“

oil on canvas
46x36cm

Rei first stumbled upon the lush green mirage as he was strolling in the streets. It had been three months since he arrived, basking in the sights and sounds of the city as it unfolded to him layer by layer.

He had wandered through the dense, quaint neighbourhoods, walked along the river at night, and stood beneath towers of glass where the skyline stood proudly against the night. He had even scavenged food from crowded hawker stalls, richly flavoured and crept about in sculpted gardens.

There was wonder, admiration and stimulation. But there was also a subtle weight he hadn’t known how to name.

Even in moments of rest, the city seemed to expect something from him – attention, movement and participation. The noise never fully disappeared.

So when he passed the forest, he almost didn’t notice it at first. It wasn’t announced or framed. It was dense, unshaped, and just quietly breathing behind the concrete.

And as Rei stepped closer, something shifted.

The trees stood close, leaning, curving and branches weaving together. Sunlight slipped through in fragments, scattering across trunks and roots, never staying long enough. 

The air changed subtly, cooling against Rei’s skin, carrying the scent of damp earth and something green and alive. The city’s sounds did not stop: they loosened, thinning into a distant murmur that no longer pressed against him.

And because of that, Rei felt himself relax. The quiet inside him widened, not empty, but unoccupied. Thoughts passed through without catching. Feelings settled where they landed, unexamined.

Standing among the trees, Rei understood something wordlessly. He had stepped into a sanctuary within himself – a place that required no explanation, no preparation.

And he stood there for a long while, not waiting, not observing, not becoming.

Just existing.

And when he finally turned back toward the path, he realised the space had not closed behind him. It moved with him, quietly, like an inner clearing he could return to whenever the world grew loud again.