States of Matter is an immersive installation that transforms the architecture of St Mary’s Church in Nottingham’s historic Lace Market with synchronised light, sound, and moving image. The piece invites audiences to reflect on our fragile relationship with water and the urgent challenges posed by climate change.

At the heart of the work is the natural water cycle - its rhythms, transformations, and interconnections with land, sea, and sky. With global temperatures projected to rise by 4 degrees over the next 80 years, melting polar ice caps and rising sea levels pose one of the greatest threats to humanity. States of Matter explores this crisis through the lens of connection, asking how water - something that touches every life - can also be a source of shared responsibility.

The installation combines layers of ambient sound, vivid visuals, and dynamic lighting to evoke the phases of water: solid, liquid, and gas. Carefully choreographed sequences immerse visitors in shifting environments that move between beauty and tension, evoking the flow and fragility of the natural world.

Field recordings from the Arctic, Antarctic, and the Humboldt Current were provided by renowned sound recordist and sonic artist Chris Watson, known for his work on the Frozen Planet series. These environmental sounds form the foundation of a rich, evolving soundscape composed by CJ Mirra.

States of Matter was created by multimedia artist Urban Projections and composer CJ Mirra, in collaboration with young people from Nottinghamshire. Through a series of workshops and creative sessions, participants explored global warming, water poverty, and the interconnected systems that shape our environment. They collected audio from their local surroundings, which was woven into the final score alongside Watson’s recordings. Visuals were developed in tandem with the sound design, using colour, light, and projection to construct a sensory journey through the states of matter.

States of Matter is both a call to awareness and a platform for dialogue. By merging immersive technology with collective storytelling, the work encourages audiences to consider their relationship with water - and their role in shaping its future.

“What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.”
– Dr Jane Goodall, Scientist & Activist