Mike Moran

The photographic aqueduct project originated from artwork developed during my MA in Fine Art. A particular quote by Gertrude Stein guided the work: "nature doesn't make straight lines" The underlying idea is that nature favours, chaos, meandering curves and irregularities over perfect geometric, straightness and regularity.

Aqueducts were the backbone of Roman society, a straight line for transporting water. The Romans sort to control and tame water, creating a line that defied valleys and mountains. Nothing is permanent, for me aqueducts became the antitheses of hubris. Over a millennium, that line has been reduced to a few fragments, eroded, robbed and built upon, a shattered line.

Walking alongside aqueducts in France and Italy, my goal was to photograph the entire length of each remaining section. Editing the fragments into long panoramic images, adding water stains became an act of connecting material, time, and irregularity. In some cases, I removed buildings and the accumulated paraphernalia attached to the masonry. What emerged were structures that had become almost part of nature, weathered by the element they had been designed to transport. The water had stopped flowing; the backbone remained, pillars and arches resemb...

University of the West of England, Bristol 2006-2009
Qualification
MA in Fine Art

North Staffordshire Polytechnic, Stoke on Trent 1983-1986
Qualification
Degree in Multidisciplinary Design

Bournemouth and Poole College of Art and Design 1981-1983
Qualification
Diploma in Art and Design

2009 Et in arcadia ego, St Pauls Crypt, Bristol

2008 Nazionale d’Arte Digitale, Strada Monterotondo, Italy

2008 Palimpsest, Widcombe Studios, Bath

2008 Two in one, International Mini Print Exhibition, Roennebaeksholm Arts and Culture Centre, Naestved, Denmark.

2007 CADFEM, Munich, Germany

2007 Turning the Tide on Climate Change, Portsmouth.

2007 Group of 13, Bath Fringe, Bath.

2007 Group of 13, The Basement Gallery, Bristol.

2006 Landmarks III, Lowood Gallery, Armathwaite.

2004 Real Art for Real People, The Conningsby Gallery, London.

2004 Australian International Festival of Photography exhibition, Sydney, Australia.

2004 Digital to Analogue, Boston Tea Party, Bristol.

2004 International Digital Art Exhibition, Melbourne, Australia.

2003 Fusion Show, Gallery 47, London.

2003 Illumination, Debut Art Illustrators Show, The Conningsby Gallery, London.

2003 International Digital Art Exhibition, Melbourne, Australia.

2002 Pixxelpoint, International Computer Art Festival, City Gallery Nova Gorica, Slovina.

2002 Photosynthesis, Harrow Arts Centre, London.

2002 13 Voyages, Il Bordello, Bristol.

1996 Souvenirs, Happening Gallery, Bristol.