SIGNINGS: MOTHER & FATHER
This work explores the nature of human existence as represented in one of the most intimate expressions of it — a signature. The work charts the signatures of family members over the course of their lives and shows how identity is formed and altered by life’s events and the ravages of time and health. Handmade paper, which is conceptually integral to the work, was created by incorporating shredded personal documents. These newly formed sheets serve as the surface to document the subtle and not so subtle shifts in the transitions of the human condition with printed signatures found researching personal documents.
The installation forms timelines giving the viewer a specific vision into lives at a particular moment and hinting at the unseen things that have transitioned in between the signatures that mark points in time. Forty-four signatures, arranged chronologically from left to right, are taken from documents such as birth certificates, report cards, letters, a ration card, passports, and tax forms, among others. They create two timelines that are 23 feet long that float on the wall.
