The story begins with the skull on the left.  This represents his grandmother.  Michael tells of how when, as a child, his grandmother used to have this drawer full of old junk and knick-knacks.  Whenever he visited her he would always play with this items and create things with them.  It was her that sparked his artistic side. 

Later in life when he was pursuing career direction, most people in his life were suggesting a more traditional choice, such as a plumber or electrician.  His grandmother always supported his desire to become an artist.

The "A-R-T" signifies her support and early nurturing of his artistic side.  The heart above the skull shows her warm love (hence the yellow rays) that he always felt.

The center skull represents his nephew.  While on a hiking expedition with a friend, they came to a small cliff-side passage on the trail.  Although seemingly dangerous, the nephew decided to go first.  As he began to cross, he lost his footing and fell to his death.  The last words his friend heard as he began to fall?  "OH SHIT!"

The Yin Yang symbol above the skull is the actual patch from the nephew's Karate uniform, another passion the nephew was pursuing before his death.

The last skull is that of his father.  You will notice that the D's in DAD are in opposite directions.  This is because Michael always felt at odds with his father and never really got along with him very well.

The heart above the skull represents his father's love.  Although he and his father didn't always get along, he knew his father still loved him in his own twisted way - hence the twist symbol through the heart.

The upper ears and eyelids at the top of the sculpture are that of his mother's cat, which also died during the same time period as the loss of his three loved ones.

Falling from the eyes of the cat between the skulls are animated tears that fall into an empty pool below.  The "cat" is crying over the loss of the loved ones.

And finally, at the bottom of the piece, is the single word "AWAY".  This is the answer to the title of this sculpture - "Where'd They Go?"