LOCAL HABITAT
Spring 2025
LOCAL HABITAT brings together the iconic animal that lives locally and whose image can be seen all over the University’s campus—the Bobcat—with the new Hilltop Housing residence. In this larger than lifesize installation, a bobcat is inhabiting the built environment like its own home with a relaxed gentle posture showing a restful dimension of its character.
During Covid, when fewer people were traveling the streets and sidewalks, the headlines were quick to pick up on local wildlife coming back and reinhabiting urban spaces; a phenomenon that intrigued many and led to larger discussions about our shared planet. LOCAL HABITAT plays out this scenario of animals inhabiting domestic spaces, creating a wondrous scene for the new housing on campus.
Bobcats have their own history with the area and with the University. The bobcat, known for its fierceness and courage, was adopted by the university as its mascot in 1921. Texas State was the first college in the country to use this name for its athletic teams. Many actual bobcat families live locally and sightings happen each year in San Marcos.
LOCAL HABITAT is a playful installation that reveals the fragile line between human and wildlife habitats, as well showcasing an essential habit of the bobcat that parallels a main function of the Hilltop Housing Residence: Rest. The immersive sculpture intentionally blurs the line of “Who’s home is it?” creating a scene that blends Nature and the built environment, illuminating the fact that we inherently share a home with other creatures on the planet.