In the Lobby Gallery you are invited to step into a strange realm where animals, humans, plants and microbes float and mix and blend, creating weird creatures in strange landscapes.

Inspired by Caroline Achaintre’s masks and tapestries, and Sonia Shiel’s kaleidoscopic paintings, this is a space to imagine how animal or plant adaptations could change how you move through the world.

How would you go to school if your hands were more bear-like, or your skin was a little more octopus-ish, or your sense of smell was as incredible as a dog’s? What if you could make your own food from the sunlight, like a plant?

These ideas give a starting point to use this space. Could you

• Make a set of wings to blend in with a flock of crows?
• Construct some claws that could help you climb a tree?
• Make a tail that could help you balance and run along a rooftop?
• Make a mask that could help you slip unnoticed into a herd of zebras?

We are part of nature, not separate from it. This space encourages us to think about how we are human animals and imagine a weird world, where we could accelerate adaptations, as many animals do through evolution; to change with our changing world.

This space was made collaboratively by the VISUAL team. Why not take a picture of your construction or make a performance and share it with us? This interactive space is suitable for all ages.