The New York Times reviewed an art installation whose set was designed by Prof. Troy Hourie, School of English and Theatre Studies.

The art performance, called Static Apnea, is designed to offer the sensation of suffocating underwater.

The NYT noted that Hourie designed the “daunting” set, which features a winding path with mirrors on each side and a walkway that glows cobalt and other piercing shades of blue to give “the unnerving sense of being surrounded by water.”

Hourie is the theatre studies undergraduate program coordinator, as well as a scenographer and installation artist.

He has designed more than 350 productions for off-Broadway, regional and opera companies across the U.S., Canada and internationally, and chose to merge art history, architecture and theatre design.