Breath is one of the body's most fundamental rhythms, simultaneously voluntary and involuntary, conscious and automatic. During moments of pain, anxiety, meditation, or exertion, breathing becomes something we actively negotiate, using repetition and control to move through uncertainty.

Labored Breath translates breathing techniques used during moments of stress (or childbirth) into light and time. Layered recordings of distinct breathing patterns are synchronized with a programmed DMX light over the course of a two and a half minute installation. Initially moving together, the rhythms gradually fall out of phase before briefly reconnecting, creating an environment in which breath becomes both a shared structure and an unstable one.

Synchronization forms the conceptual core of the work. The sound and light briefly align, creating a temporary sense of coherence; this alignment inevitably dissolves.