Shredding time (2018), The Undiscovered Country, Art Stage 2018, Marina Bay Sands, Singapore SG

Once, while in a Muji shop, I bought a manual shredder. I found the object beautifully discreet, both to own and to use. The hidden handle made two 180-degree turns that seemed to synchronise perfectly with my breathing: up and down, in and out.

For the two-day performances at Art Stage, I had chosen death as the theme. On the second day, I presented the simple action of shredding against a black background, aiming to draw the audience’s attention to the present moment through synchronised breathing. By consciously controlling our breath, we can bypass the brain stem’s automatic regulation of this vital function, pausing the mind’s endless activity and our restless motion like hamsters running on a wheel.

Photo Ezzam Rahman