According to Neuferts’ “Architects’ Data”, accommodating low-scale egg production with 10 hens requires a 220 x 375 cm nesting box system with roosting poles. These measurements are based on the assumption that the hens fit a norm of 35 cm in height and a length of 40 cm. These preset dimensions provide the point of departure for the video animation “Ei”.
The scene of action is the specified ground plan for a hens’ nesting box, as found in Neuferts’ “Architects’ Data”. At the centre of the plot is the production, the egg that is to be laid. Analogous to the ground plan of the nesting box are the hens, as portrayed from above in correspondence with the specifications. Animated images of these ground plans show motion sequences of the hens. It is exclusively the sound that creates the space; the sounds of the hens can be heard as they scratch, pick, flap and shuffle back and forth. The viewer looks down from above, observing the happenings much like the recordings of a surveillance camera that might film and register the number and spatial positions of people in public buildings.