New York based artist Liz Magic Laser (°1981, New York, USA) has devoted her practice to exploring the production of belief. Through elaborate research-based installations, films and performances, she examines the efficacy of new age techniques and psychological methods active in both corporate culture and political movements. In her work Convulsive States, commissioned by Pioneer Works, she explores the shaking body as both a symptom and a cure for psychic distress. The installation comprises interactive videos offering therapeutic movement exercises, and an investigative report uncovering mysteries at the Hôpital de la Salpêtrière in Paris — a site widely regarded as the birthplace of modern neurology and psychology.