In the series Vanishing Points Michael Sherwin documents the modern sites of previous American civilizations. Sherwin writes,

In my most recent project I explore the ancestry of the American landscape, and reflect upon traditional Western Anglo-American views of nature, wilderness, ownership, and spirituality. The project was inspired by the battle over the use of land that is now the Suncrest Town Center in Morgantown, WV. The Town Center was developed on a 2,000-year-old sacred indigenous burial ground and village site less than a mile from my house. I am fascinated by this simultaneous presence and absence in the landscape, the seen and unseen. Combining extensive research of historical archives, maps, and contemporary satellite imagery, as well as direct collaboration with archaeologists, historians, and scholars I have been able to locate and photograph numerous significant sites of Native American history in the regional area. The sites I choose to visit and photograph are literal and metaphorical vanishing points, places in the landscape where two lines, or cultures, converge. They are also actual locations where the sparse evidence of a culture's once vibrant existence has all but disappeared. While visiting these sites, I reflect on the monuments our modern culture will leave behind and what the archaeological evidence of our modern civilization reveals about our time on Earth.

• Boat Ramp, Green Bottom Wildlife Management Area, WV Boat Ramp, Green Bottom Wildlife Management Area, WV
• Tracks, Moundsville, WV Tracks, Moundsville, WV
• Mural, Point Pleasant Riverfront Park, Point Pleasant, WV Mural, Point Pleasant Riverfront Park, Point Pleasant, WV
• Criel Mound, South Charleston, WV Criel Mound, South Charleston, WV
• Factory, Ohio River, Moundsville, WV Factory, Ohio River, Moundsville, WV
• Suncrest Town Center, Morgantown, WV Suncrest Town Center, Morgantown, WV
• Soybean Field, Buffalo, WV Soybean Field, Buffalo, WV
• Cleared Meadow, Green Bottom Wildlife Management Area, WV Cleared Meadow, Green Bottom Wildlife Management Area, WV
• Chickamunga Mound, Chattanooga, TN Chickamunga Mound, Chattanooga, TN
• Poorhouse Mound, Shawnee Park, Dunbar, WV Poorhouse Mound, Shawnee Park, Dunbar, WV
• Abandoned Furniture, Green Bottom Wildlife Management Area, WV Abandoned Furniture, Green Bottom Wildlife Management Area, WV
• Oak Mound and Oak Mound Evangelical Church, Clarksburg, WV Oak Mound and Oak Mound Evangelical Church, Clarksburg, WV
• View from the Top, Criel Mound, South Charleston, WV View from the Top, Criel Mound, South Charleston, WV
• Teays Hill Cemetery, St. Albans, WV Teays Hill Cemetery, St. Albans, WV
• Mattress, Natrium, WV Mattress, Natrium, WV
• Western Most Picketed Point, Marietta, OH Western Most Picketed Point, Marietta, OH
• View from the Top, Grave Creek Mound, Moundsville, WV View from the Top, Grave Creek Mound, Moundsville, WV
• Looking West, Blennerhasset Island, WV Looking West, Blennerhasset Island, WV
• Kanawha River, Tu Endie Wei State Park, Point Pleasant, WV Kanawha River, Tu Endie Wei State Park, Point Pleasant, WV
• Road Ends, Greenbottom Wildlife Management Area, WV Road Ends, Greenbottom Wildlife Management Area, WV
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Using the mediums of photography, video, and installation, Michael Sherwin’s art reflects on the experience of observing nature through the lenses of science and popular culture. He has won numerous grants and awards for his work, and has been exhibited widely, including recent shows at CEPA Gallery in Buffalo, SPACES Gallery in Cleveland, the Clay Center for Arts and Sciences in Charleston, WV, Pittsburgh Filmmakers Gallery, and the Center for Emerging Visual Artists in Philadelphia. Sherwin earned a MFA from the University of Oregon in 2004, and a BFA from The Ohio State University in 1999. Currently, Michael Sherwin is an Associate Professor of Intermedia and Photography in the School of Art and Design at West Virginia University, and an active member of the Society for Photographic Education. To see more of his work, visit his website.