The Family Tree

The Family Tree

2014

48cm x 23cm x 5cm

brass, tree branch, hand made hyacinth paper

This piece is a physical manifestation of the German portion of my family tree. The leaves are hand made hyacinth paper, an invasive species killing native wild rice in the San Marcos River where I currently reside, from which it was harvested. Each leaf contains one name written in German and is un-translatable by my family. The hyacinth paper symbolizes the vague Americanized portion of my family that has forgotten where it comes from. This along with the constraining brass collar relates to the ever-present loss of heritage as the family tree is overgrown and the German heritage is lost.

Photo by Brenden Freedman