On the road at the water's edge: an installation by Michael x. Ryan

Ryan's work is influenced by hidden histories, the traces that remain of actions, often missed, and presented to be deciphered. From the puddles left after a shower, the forgotten movements of a day's travel or random stains on a sidewalk to the remains of an impact crater hidden in layers of sediment- each is mapped, diagrammed and documented to reveal its trace

"On the Road at the Water's Edge" is an installation of works selected from four "mapping" series made over the last 13 years; it will also include two new projects.  Selections from previous works are: "shower puddle," water colors and painted wood reliefs; "Where did I travel within the city limits of Krems/Stein from 25/7/05 through 18/8/05?," ink drawing on tourist maps; "Where did I travel within the Chicago city limits from mid-February through early March in the years 1999-2000-2001?," graph, daily diagrams, limited edition book; "Road Stains Wood Reliefs," painted wood reliefs. The two new projects in the installation are: "A 20 foot line traced from a steel wire drawing following the water's edge from the Oxbow dock 20 feet north on Monday, July 7th 2008 at 10:30 am," a full scale sand drawing, and another new work, "Hidden Layers; the Chesapeake Bay Impact Crater," will be created which is inspired by the work of scientists studying the Chesapeake Bay Impact Crater.