Fatal-is or Free-will2025   Individual Work

74.8 × 66.9 × 11.8 in
Tin foil,mirror panels,plastic pipes,camera ,TV display and computer running TouchDesigner








As science drifted from classical mechanics to quantum theory, our confidence in free will has evolved alongside. Certainty gave way to uncertainty principles, and the observer became an integral component of what was once only observed. This work asks whether the same observation that collapses a quantum state might also cause human choice, under the gaze of consciousness, to condense from infinite possibilities into a single outcome. Does free will disappear under the weight of observation, or arise through it?

The external frame is composed of ten antique mirrors layered with carved foil and black paint, recalling the weathered scientific instruments—and determinism—of classical mechanics. In contrast, the mirrors reflect the viewers' image; the moment their gaze is met, viewers and their choices are folded into the piece.




Inside the frame, a screen runs a TouchDesigner quantum-state program. Particles begin in a superposition and, as soon as the camera detects the viewer's gaze, gradually collapse into human form. The viewer's attention functions like a macroscopic quantum selector, stabilizing one pattern among many. Hence, the image is not fixed by observation, but selected through it—free will exists.


Installation Video: 


© 2025 Yu Xia