LIVE FOR ME THE SAME WAY I LIVE FOR YOU

Stories told to me about my German Jewish ancestry hold memories embedded within my identity. I’m caught by the gaze of the grotesque carved characters in a collection of 19th century wooden chairs that stood in my ancestor’s homes. Their faces of man/beast/angel evoke an aliveness. The chairs have connected me to many generations of my family and like many of my ancestors they only survived by fate. Through making new recollections of the chairs, I have formed them into powerful monuments. They are protectors of my family that have migrated with us, the beasts that scare away evil spirits. They are allegorical statues looking both back into their pasts and to the future.  I have weaved myself into the folklore of the chairs, and resurfaced their histories, ensuring nothing is lost in time. My work protects the futures of these mystical characters, in the same way they have protected mine.