Convulsive States [notes + extras]

We had the pleasure of working with Liz Magic Laser on Convulsive States, a feature-long documentary along with an 8-channel video installation which explores the shaking body as both a symptom and a cure for psychic distress. Developed over nine years of intense conversation and friendship with the poet Ariana Reines, the exhibition comprises interactive videos offering therapeutic movement exercises, and a hallucinatory investigative report that feverishly pursues the cure for hysteria as it uncovers mysteries at Paris’s Salpêtrière Hospital—a site widely regarded as the birthplace of modern neurology and psychology.

Liz Magic Laser, Convulsive States, 2023, commissioned by Pioneer Works, 9-channel video, 55 min. Exorcise 1-8, 8-channel two-way mirror, glass, monitor and wooden frame. Convulsive States, 1-channel digital video. Editing of Convulsive States by Isaac Goes and Michelle Yoon. Cinematography of Exorcise 1-8 by Michelle Yoon. Editing of Exorcise 1-8 by Isaac Goes.

Upcoming Screenings:
Pioneer Works - 11/12/23 - 3PM-5PM
Tate Modern - 11/22/23 - 6:30PM-8:00PM

Select Press: The New York Times, Art Forum, Frieze Armory Week, Artnet, Document Journal

Liz Magic Laser, Prototype for Convulsive States, 2023, commissioned by Pioneer Works for Frieze Projects for Frieze New York 2023. Single-channel video, 5 min, two-way mirrored glass, monitor, and wooden frame. Editing by Isaac Goes and Michelle Yoon. Cinematography by Michelle Yoon.