Ryan is of Māori (Hauraki) and Scottish (Sinclair clan) whakapapa, from Aotearoa, New Zealand. Currently studying at Dartmouth College, his work represents interdisciplinary engagements with weaving, painting, and printmaking through the vessel of land, people, and place. Each symbol or figure is derived from drawing extensively in the land. His work has been displayed in two solo exhibitions, at Dartmouth and in his hometown, and across galleries in Aotearoa, including Te Papa Tongarewa (National Museum of New Zealand) and the Artshouse Trust Pah Homestead.