Superdecision
Photography George Torode
Matthew Woodham, Superdecision, 2025
Do all possible outcomes exist until we make a choice?
Sit and reflect on a moment of personal uncertainty. As you do, enter a symbolic state of superposition, where all possibilities coexist. You will first witness a traditional coin toss, followed by a version where the coin hovers in suspension, allowing both sides to be seen simultaneously through the “split view periscope” before your decision is made.
The tension between uncertainty and coherence in both human experience and quantum physics inspired artist Matthew Woodham, whose background in neuroscience is reflected in the work’s focus on decision making. At the top of the installation, phosphorescent particles of strontium aluminate represent an ‘atom cloud’, grounding the work in its scientific and technological roots.
Matthew Woodham is an artist and ‘experience’ designer. Through his work, he aims to expose the system dynamics of nature by integrating physical models which describe behaviours of complex systems. His background in cognitive neuroscience informs an interdisciplinary approach which brings together ideas from art, music, science and technology in real-time and interactive experiences.
Created in collaboration with the Atom Interferometry Observatory Network (AION) at the University of Oxford and Imperial College London, University of Nottingham’s Gravity Laboratory and ARTlab Nottingham, with contributions from physicists at these institutions.
The artist also thanks Noémie Soula, Steven Lawton and Shobita Bhumbra.