Hayley McGuire
University of North Texas
(B.F.A. New Media Arts)
Many of Hayley’s pieces delve into social commentary, exploring such topics as: the political nature of Swedish public art, nostalgia versus reality, xenophobia and environmentalism.

Supplemental Hardware

Description of Work: My video is a CG-visualized journey through a museum of spinal deformity correctional devices, inspired by my own upcoming spinal fusion surgery. The piece addresses surgical anxiety as well as the clinical and impersonal ways deformities are evaluated and treated.

What inspired you to do this project? I was inspired by my own upcoming spinal fusion surgery. I felt a lot of fear, and also got the impression from doctors that I was more of a specimen than a person. I was inspired also by “alternative” methods for spinal deformity correction that resemble torture devices.

What do you hope people will take away from your work?I hope people in some ways sympathize with the skeletons depicted in the piece. Ideally they will come away more aware of spinal deformity cases, and will understand the surgical anxiety that plagues afflicted individuals.