As the viewer approaches the work they see a digitized copy of a daguerreotype of “Joseph Avery stranded in the Niagara River, taken by Platt D. Babbitt in 1853. Avery was swept from a boat in the rapids and clung to a log for nearly 18 hours before succumbing to the river. Babbitt, a photographer at Prospect Point, captured this moment in a series of daguerreotypes. The images were later used to document the tragic event, with Avery eventually being swept over the falls during a rescue attempt. “ 

In my version Avery remains stranded on the rock as long as the viewer stands in front of the work, should they move away Avery slips off the rock.