Genealogial tree

The wall installation continues the exploration of identity, belonging and positioning. The starting point for the formal design were historical family trees, which represent cartographic arrangements of origin and connections. Within these genealogical structures, family roots are made visible, origins are organised and belonging is defined. In my version of this cartography, I transform these systems of order into a poetic and questioning mapping of the self in relation to the world. 

Instead of wooden frames, I use oval plastic embroidery hoops with a wood-effect finish. They appear old and familiar, but they are not. Their apparent authenticity is just as staged as our self-understanding of ‘belonging’. 

The connections between the hoops consist of standard nylon tights. A material that appears trivial at first glance, yet is multi-layered in its referentiality: it stands for the feminine, the domestic, the elastic and the underestimated, the overstretchable, the tearable, but also for that which comes together again and again, even when it becomes brittle.

In terms of content, this work is an attempt to situate oneself within a network of relationships that extends beyond biological lines. Who belongs to it? Who is left out? Who determines the rules of this system? Where do I fit in?