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It strands us in a state of bewilderment as to whether our moment is mundane or exceptional (After Maggie Nelson) / Three States of Matter (2025)
Photos Courtesy of Claire Haughey
Multi-channel video installation with audio, 4’ x 8’ x 3.5” panels with inkjet prints on acetate, OSB flooring
Dimensions Variable (8 4’x8’ panels and 29 31.5’ x 31.5’ floor boards)
After uncovering thirty-six flood-damaged family photographs when cleaning out my grandparents’ home in Nakhonsawan, lost in the flood from 2011, I began to imagine alternate relationships I can have with water and the memory of disasters. The images didn’t blur as I anticipated; instead, they became supernovae of pigments, lifted and dissolved by water before resettling into fireworks of cool tones. Losing my family’s archive made me interested in how inherent vice and material decay of archives are not just evidence of loss: the photographs can no longer hold individual stories of my past, but they became a collective archive, one that has the memory of water embedded in it. In this installation, I constructed an immersive room in response to the dissolved photos—a memory net capturing the joyful moments, a projection surface, a safe chamber.
In its past life, this installation came out of Three States of Matter, a devised movement-based theatrical adaptation of Anton Checkov’s Three Sisters as they try their best to live in a rapidly shrinking world, exploring the themes of climate migration, immobility, and flood buyouts. The play began as a collaboration between Anna Zheng, Andrew Lee, and I, which grew into a production with 30 cast and crew members, brought together by a common desire to figure out art’s role amidst the climate crisis. This collaboration renewed in me a newfound sense of optimism, one rooted in collective futures, care and openness to being changed and challenged by others, as we navigate uncertain times.
Perhaps, this thesis is a beginning of a practice of redrawing borders and geographies: the arbitrary thresholds between self and non-self, the shifting borders of local histories, landscapes, and water lines.
No artist works alone, and I’ve been so fortunate to be surrounded by so many generous, creative minds during my time working on this project and beyond. This project wouldn’t have been possible without the critical support from: AB Wieland, Anna Zheng, Andrew Lee, Bren Bartol, Jahfari Maddo, Henry Tian, Cesar Valenzuelas, Emily Lim, Marina Castilla-Liu, Esme Oliva, Sebastian Blue Hochman, Isabella Terrazas, Jaden Southern, Nona Hungate, Kaelyn Ong, Tri Hernandez, Sharon Wambu, Atticus Griswold, Jude St. John, Matthew Canlas, Hannah Shu, Linshi Furgeson, Cyprien Fasquelle, Xiyuan Wu, Keanu Su'a, Da-hee Kim, Claire Morton, Rwaida Gharib, Lana Tleimat, Crystal Peng, Melody Peng, Ezra Melosh, Maggie Cheung, Joshua Kendalland and Tuan Ngyuen. Lastly, I am grateful to Pannita Mamanee for her composition “Suspending in Hazy Memories,” without which the installation would not be the same.
I am so grateful to get to work alongside Jackie, Lisa, Greg and Trinity over the last few months. In addition to my inspiring honors cohort, I have been continually rejuvenated by the advice, support and encouragement from friends: Celestine Wenardy, Eli Arguello, Kea Clebsch, Alexandra Ngueyn, Zane Chan, Griffin Clark, Aileen Rubio, Grace Flynn, Song Wu, Lucas Baisch, Ryan Yu, Cyan D’Anjou, D Fukunaga, Tae Kyu Kim, Charles Shi, Shayana Venukanthan, and Madison Fan (and so many more who are not listed here) who have been so generous with their time and energy.
This ongoing project wouldn’t have been possible without the mentorship from my advisors Camille Utterback, Paul DeMarinis, Alexa Burrell, Hudson Hatfield, Bailey Scieszka, Enam Gbewonyo, Vincent Chong, Marci Kwon, Del Holton, Kerri Conlon, Kim Beil, A-lan Holt, Jazlyn Patricio-Archer, Amara Tabor-Smith, Scott Lankford, Sean Wheeler, Defne Beyce, Richard Haley, Nicholas Hoverston, Gabriel Harrison, Daniel Brickman, and Julianne Garcia -- as well as the countless folks who have given me advice and inspiration on how and why to continue making art: Moreshin Allahyari, Ellen Oh, Edi Dai, Erina Alejo, Anja Ulfedt, Miguel Novelo, Leila Weefur, Michelle Wilson, Anicka Yi, Nasim Moghadam, Nimah Gobir, Mark Baugh-Sasaki, Arnold Kemp, Stewy Robinson, Connie Zheng, Heesoo Kwon, Kelsey Chen, Elaine Fong, Candace Huey, Karina Hammoud, Deborah Munk, and Catherine McMahon.
Special acknowledgements to the kind staff at Bowes Art and Architecture Library, Stanford TAPS Department, Daniel Cadigan, Tyler Osgood, Theater Lab, the Nitery Theater, and the Stanford Institute for Diversity in the Arts.