KC Studio: Ryan Wilks’ “Here Where You Wish”

There’s always more.

Writing this piece was a lesson in hard editing, because no way could I pack in all the details and thoughtfulness that Wilks and their collaborators poured into this work.

(I tried. I cut out hundreds of words. My editor cut 400 more.)

I need to go back and revisit the installation now that more people have had a chance to visit, since I  went opening night to deposit my offering and make my wish (for patience, for the love of everything), and see how the work has evolved.

One interesting fact that couldn’t find a place in the piece was that Tim J. Harte crafted his piece at the Miller Nichols Library, testing and recording his wine glasses in the stairwell, before creating the full piece in the Central Library’s space.

This was also an exercise in gender neutrality. Wilks was the first artist I’ve spoken with who preferred a gender neutral pronoun, but in writing it was interestingly difficult to remain clear while trying to use “they” or a different method of pronoun. So that’s something to work on.