Sometimes I look at the windows of buildings and wonder what stories are unfolding behind each one. People we walk past every day without knowing what their lives are like, what they’re thinking about, or what happens behind those windows. Some might spend hours sitting by the window, watching people come and go. Some might be waiting for someone to return home. Maybe someone comes to the window at the same time every day, hoping to see the person they love walking down the street. Maybe someone hasn’t left their home in a long time, and that window is their only connection to the outside world. I find it interesting how windows can be both boundaries and connections. You’re behind a window, looking at the outside world, but at the same time, you’re separated from it. You can hear the sounds of the street, watch people passing by, and even imagine things about their lives without actually being part of them. Sometimes I think the people behind windows might observe other people’s lives more than those of us walking down the streets. They witness the passing of people who might never even notice their presence. And perhaps, in the same way, we walk past windows every day without realizing that there are people behind them, each living a completely different story. The vines growing across this building are also fascinating to me. It’s as if nature is slowly taking back something that humans have built. Plants find their own way, climb the walls, and grow around the windows. It’s as if time is quietly leaving its mark on the building and on the lives of the people living inside it. Maybe each of the little figures standing behind these windows has a different story. Maybe they’ll never meet each other, even if they live in the same building. Perhaps, in this brief moment, they’re simply looking out at the world from their own windows. I’ve always thought about how much of other people’s lives remains unknown to us. We only see a small part of their stories: a window, an image, a single moment in someone’s life. And maybe behind every window, there’s an entire world we’ll never get the chance to know. ⸻ About the Artwork & Creation Process The original photograph for this artwork was taken by Nastaran Najafi in a neighborhood in Istanbul, Turkey. The figures were painted by Nastaran Taghdimi using the Japanese Sumi-e painting technique. The overall composition was created by Nastaran Najafi, and the GIF animation was generated with AI. Artists: Nastaran Najafi & Nastaran Taghdimi Photography: Nastaran Najafi Painting: Nastaran Taghdimi — Sumi-e technique Composition: Nastaran Najafi GIF Animation: AI-generated Format: GIF Dimensions: 1536 × 1024 pixels Orientation: Horizontal