Family Reunion - The Show

All images by Leonard Monje

Roots: (Figures range from 10”- 12” in height made from wood, plaster, paper clay and paint). 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 involved in tracing our existence to the beginning of civilization.

Dancing With Ghosts: (Acrylic on canvas 36” x 96” x 2”) If you look closely, you can see little faces in this painting.  These faces represent memories and interactions with people who have made an impression on my life.  They stay with me.  They are reminders of all those who have shaped who I am, and by extension all those who shape who each of us is.

U5b2: ( 8”x 41” x 9” Wood, fabric, cotton batting and paint) represents my Haplogroup based on a collection of common inherited genes that trace ancestral lines back to an original parent through matrilineal mitochondria.  U5b2 ties me – and millions of others – directly to an ancestral Mitochondrial Eve originating in the East African region of modern Kenya.  U5b2’s wall-mounted boat carries travelers who have traversed many countries, many seas.  These people are black, white and beige because of where they originated from based on Mitochondrial Eve.  The boat is red based on the Hebrew definition of the name Adam, “son of the red earth.”

Family Gallery: ( 14.5” x 23.5” x 18” wood cage, archival ink photos, paperclay sculpture, paint, mirror). What would a show entitled Family Reunion be without my siblings. Although, I am the only one who has the need to express my creativity publicly, the other three are also creative. The four walls of the “gallery” represents me and my siblings. It’s a photo show of images I lifted off of their social media. The pink character critiquing the show represents my mother, Harriette, who is adorned with mirrors. Whether we like it or not, we are all a reflection of her. Harriette was an artist in her own right. Writing was her main media but she also dabbled in painting with nail polish.

Heirloom: (38” x 7” x 13” with doors open - wood, mirror, wire, plastic, LED lights). Behind the doors of this cabinet/tower is an infinity mirror and a DNA double helix branded with the word “trauma.” These embody my interest in cell memory and genetic traits. What do we inherit from our ancestors and pass down to our descendants? Do forces extraneous to the biological production of cellular material still have an influence on that material? Do we pass down the effects of trauma to our progeny?

Secrets: (13”x 18.75” x 24” -1930’s architectural model house with sealed paint, acrylic and photographs with an external light source) All families have secrets.  Is it better to keep them hidden?  And from whom? How much do we really know about the people who created us and the previous generations who created them?  While doing research for the Roots project, I’ve discovered some very interesting things – information not pertinent to my blood lines, but important to my families’ histories.  I will keep them locked up in this 1930’s architectural model. Photographs and lights visible in the windows hint at the skeletons in the closets…

The Chosen Ones: (11”-12” wood, plaster, paperclay and acrylic paint). There is your family of origin and then there is the family you choose. Here are figures you can choose to be in your family. They don’t talk but they are excellent listeners.

Family Baggage: (ink on canvas) Family snapshots printed on shopping bags represent generations of “baggage” and the use of retail therapy as a coping mechanism. Getting stuff as pain relief. Each snapshot is backed by a pattern derived from a related image. For instance, the last image of my family, seemingly happy, rests on a pattern made from an image of the fudge my dad was famous for making (and his family was famous for eating). Both good times and bad times make a lasting impression and are carried with us throughout our lives. I’ve left some of these events inside each bag.