location: University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
dimensions: 8' × 40' × 20'
materials: Steel, concrete, fiberglass, shoes
Middleground (1991) was an exhibition at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill by American artist Thomas Sayre. A site-specific project, the work captures a special memory from the artist’s childhood on the New England coast. Water is depicted by the swirling current of over a hundred cast-off shoes. In this case, water is seen as a means of both transportation and personal freedom.