[14] Hayes works to develop "new representational strategies that examine and interrogate the present political movement, not as a moment without historical foundation but as one that reaches simultaneously backwards and forwards.
Vienna, 2006: Presented as part of Wieder und Wider: Performance Appropriated, MUMOK, curated by Barbara Clausen and Achim Hochdorfer.
[16] For Revolutionary Love 1 & 2, Hayes asked about 100 queer volunteers to recite a text she wrote on gay power and liberation at the 2008 presidential conventions as part of a two-part commission for Creative Time’s public art initiative, “Democracy in America: The National Campaign”, curated by Nato Thompson.
Using the charged atmosphere of the conventions as a backdrop for a more personal reflection on love and politics, the piece drew upon the history of the gay liberation movements of the 1970s.
The video work uses the transcript of a meeting between politician Bella Abzug – the New York Congresswoman head of the National Women's Conference – and her vocal coach.
During their meeting, the pair work at neutralizing Abzug's regional accent and softening her tone – strategically altering her voice to something more universal and soothing.
[25] Through the film, Ricerche: two, Sharon Hayes encapsulates the politics of gender, sex, and sexuality in the United States by interviewing two women's tackle-football teams.
[27] Drawing inspiration from Pasolini’s filmmaking style of cinéma verité, Hayes includes unscripted dialogue and non-professional actors.
[29] In her latest work as part of her ongoing multipart series Ricerche, Sharon Hayes interviews a group of gay, lesbian, queer, and trans elders.
[30] Ricerche: four explores the group's personal lives and political views, highlighting the power and persistence of chosen community and what it means to gather amidst the ongoing pandemic and the impact of social media.
[36] Inspired by Italian filmmaker and writer Pier Paolo Pasolini's 1963 documentary Love Meetings, Hayes interviewed 35 students at an all-women's college in western Massachusetts about sexuality, speaking to "a larger way in which we form ourselves as people in relation to collectives".