In Crabs Nipping at My Flesh Beneath the Surface, I explore the porous boundaries between the human body and the natural world. Filmed at a tidal river in Tasmania, the work was initially conceived as a durational performance documenting my body being engulfed by the rising tide. However, the presence of crabs pinching my flesh beneath the surface disrupted this plan, shifting the work’s focus to this interaction between me and the crabs.

This performance became a meditation on bodily permeability and the tension between stillness and sensation. As the tide rose, the crabs’ relentless nipping underscored the body’s vulnerability to external forces, challenging the notion of fixed boundaries. Above the surface, I strove for composure, while beneath, my body was invaded and altered by the crabs' presence.

The video captures this interplay, reflecting on the body’s capacity to absorb and respond to its surroundings. It examines the balance between endurance and surrender, and the ways in which we are both connected to and transformed by the more-than-human world. Through this unsettling yet intimate exchange, the work invites contemplation of the body’s porousness in relation to its surroundings.