“The Representing Congress series, launched in 2016, explores the spatial transformation of Michigan’s congressional districts from the 19th century to the present, driven by demographic changes. The artist takes his own street address on Riopelle Street near Eastern Market as a starting point. This installation showcases how the Belle Isle district has undergone numerous title and shape changes from being labelled the 1st, the 13th, the 14th, or the 15th. In Representing Congress, Thompson reimagines a vast body of data as a large-scale tape depiction on the floor, giving it a tangible three-dimensional perspective. Viewers are invited to walk inside the boundaries, creating an immersive experience. The artist draws on nine maps from The Historical Atlas of State Power in Congress 1790–1990, published by two political geographers, to display the historical changes. Different color codes represent different historical decades, with black indicating the oldest outline and red marking the most recent shape.”

— Curator Nadja Rottner’s wall label text for Andy T’s Urban Vision