Genealogical Map

2019 / Embossing on handmade paper / 7 units / Various dimensions 155×155. 80X155. 65X98. 45X55. 40X65. 35X70. 35X45 cm

If, as some writers claim, thought works by extension, constantly broadening out and growing via an accumulation of layers from the centre to the periphery — as with tree rings — then what’s on the surface of this “object/knowledge” is in fact the deepest layer of all: the older, more traditional knowledge. In this piece, I explore the possibility of revealing time (both historical and biological) by reading the surfaces of the objects used by our ancestors. To that end, I recorded the marks left on the wooden floor of an old raised granary, indentations made by several generations of a family in Asturias. I did so by making large sheets of paper, spreading the pulp directly onto the floorboards.