Water Gate, Stream Erosion Project

This installation was designed to reveal some of the geological processes happening in the stream, and also draw attention to a place that most people drove right past without a second look.

The blocks in the stream were made of a material, similar to rammed earth, that I developed to slowly erode away as a result of the water flowing past the blocks.

The arch is made of fired clay. The colors on the arch were selected to reflect the action happening the stream: the upstream side is a uniform color, while the downstream side is a complex mix of colors, reflecting the mixing of waters and sediments that occurs as water flows and erodes material from the stream bed and, in this case, the line of blocks I placed in the stream.

Location: In and over a small stream on the grounds of Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.