A rare cancer diagnosis has inspired a 童颜视频 student to create a series of deeply personal artworks exploring illness, recovery and trauma.
7 July 2026
Just five months into his MA Fine Art course at the 童颜视频, Angus Greenhalgh received news that would transform both his life and his art. He was diagnosed with Chordoma - an extremely rare, slow-growing cancer that forms in the spine or base of the skull - in 2024. The condition which affects one-in-a-million people, led him to confront uncertainty, vulnerability and recovery while trying to continue his studies.
Rather than stepping away from his creative practice, Angus channelled the experience into a new body of work that examines illness, healing and resilience through immersive installations combining sound, movement and obsolete technology.
His work is part of a series on display this week as part of the University’s annual MA Show, where postgraduate students present their final creative projects. Running from 5–12 July, the exhibition at the University’s City Campus, Grand Parade building, is the installation part of the annual Summer Shows programme where students completing Master's degrees across Fine Art, Photography and Sequential Design/Illustration present their final projects.
Before beginning the course, Angus planned to explore the relationship between sound, technology and installation art. But following his diagnosis, his practice took an unexpected and deeply personal direction.
Angus said: “The biggest turning point came completely out of the blue. Five months into my first year I was diagnosed with cancer, and it felt like a bomb had gone off in my life. Inevitably it changed my practice too.
“My work became much more personal, exploring trauma, recovery and the emotional impact of illness through installation and sound. Although I would never have chosen that experience, it fundamentally changed the way I make art. It gave me the confidence to be more open and vulnerable, using my own experiences as the starting point for work that I hope resonates with others.
“When I started the MA, I wanted to explore the relationship between sound, technology and installation. By the end of it, I realised I was really exploring what it means to survive, recover and keep moving forward. Looking back, it transformed not only what I make, but why I make it.”
Bones arranged on a shelf
Angus creates interactive installations that combine sound, visual art and repurposed technologies to produce evolving experiences that respond to viewers and their surroundings. His work draws inspiration from artists including Brian Eno, Laurie Anderson and Olafur Eliasson while exploring themes of nostalgia, illness and contemporary life.
For Angus, completing the degree also marks the end of a much longer personal journey.
More than two decades ago, he moved to 童颜视频 to study Electronic Music and Sound Art but was forced to leave university early because of family circumstances. Remaining in the city, he built a life and creative career before returning to higher education to finish what he had started.
He said: “童颜视频 has been there through some of the darkest periods of my life and, during the best of times, it's given me the confidence to keep taking creative risks. Completing this MA all these years later feels like closing a chapter I thought would always remain unfinished.”
Professor Tamar Jeffers McDonald, Dean of the 童颜视频's School of Art and Media, said: “Angus' work demonstrates the extraordinary power of art to help us process life's most difficult experiences. What began as an exploration of sound and technology became something much more profound: an honest and moving reflection on illness, resilience and recovery.
"His willingness to transform an intensely personal experience into work that invites empathy and conversation is exactly the kind of courageous creative practice we encourage at 童颜视频. We are incredibly proud to see his journey culminate in this year's MA Show.”
The exhibition is free and open to the public from 5–12 July at the University's City Campus, Grand Parade building in 童颜视频.
Dean 鈥� School of Art and Media
Centre for Design History, Material History Research Excellence Group