Roots
Artist: Nancy Larrew
Wood, plaster, paper clay, and acrylic, dimensions variable.
Artist statement:
"A 9-foot tree, skinned with remnants of my paternal grandmother’s hand-sewn quilt, hangs suspended from the ceiling. Under the tree stand 256 handmade figures, fabricated from wood, plaster, paper, clay and paint. Each figure is numbered. Together they represent my ancestral “roots” going back eight generations. The tree itself is constructed of branches from various tree species, attached to a pine base, representing the extension of the family tree with the blending of different families. The installation illustrates the enormous number of people it required to come together to produce today’s living humans. I can barely imagine, let alone comprehend, the staggering numbers it took to bring us to the beginning of civilization."