While learning to sail thirteen years ago I read Plain Sailing – a manual for novice sailors – and developed an interest in wind and tidal patterns. The way these forces changed how the boat moved and reacted left me with a deeper understanding of the relationships between myself and nature. The elements symbolized in the manual and marine charts were to me, beautiful abstractions of nature, hidden from the eye. Winds depicted by changing arrows, the tidal time table – all found in the Eldrige Tide and Pilot Book – became study material on the long train ride down to Sheepshead Bay for a day on the water. These pieces represent a convergence of interest in sailing, hiking, map reading and orienteering, and childhood memories of spending time with the people who instilled me with a deep love of nature. Like pictures from a family album, each piece is an attempt to distill a moment that resulted in my understanding of the natural world and my place in it.

@evanreehlryer