“The Rhythm of the MRI Scanner”

Digital art by Diana de Avila, Sarasota Branch (Florida)

From the Artist:

“Ba-da-da-da-da-da-dahhhhhhhh, click, click, click, click, click. Waaaaap, waap, waaaaap, waap, waaaaap.” Such an array of mechanical sounds during an MRI.

And, I’ve had plenty of them. They have been a constant part of my journey. Every time I hear the sequences of clicks, bangs, and buzzes, I imagine what the coils might look like inside the big machine. I have purposely never looked at actual magnetic coils because I want to imagine them in my own way — in the way my art portrays them as coils that continuously spin, catch, and click.

This piece is my visual depiction of how I hear the MRI scanner’s rhythm. This image in my mind’s eye is a way of self-hypnosis while being tested, making the MRI go more quickly. This same image always comes when I hear the clicks close together, then louder clicks, buzzes, and whirs.

Perhaps this artwork can demystify the experience so many fear and, instead, create a way for a mind to doodle the time away amid the clicks, clacks, hums, and whirrs of those magnificent, all-knowing magnets.