States of Matter explores the transition from one state of being to another through a performative gesture of cutting. The work unfolds through a tensioned installation of linen thread stretched across space, activated through a live act in which the threads are cut one by one. In each iteration, the work exists across distinct phases: the installed form under tension, holding potential energy; the act of cutting, in which that energy is released; and the aftermath, where the structure collapses into a loose and altered state. As each thread is cut, it emits a sharp, resonant ping, making the release of tension audible as well as visible. Through this process, the work moves between states—held, activated and undone—tracing a transformation shaped by the body in time.

Developed during a residency at Art Omi, New York, in 2018, this first iteration of States of Matter emerged from the deinstallation of an earlier work, Distillation of Matter (Artspace, 2017), where the act of cutting down a wall of thread revealed a latent performative potential. At Art Omi, this gesture was brought to the foreground as the work itself. Initially conceived as an open-ended experiment, the performance was realised live for the residency’s open day on 8 July 2018, marking my first live performance. The act of cutting unfolded before an audience, establishing the work’s core structure: a shift from tension to release, from held form to collapse.