Jewelry is often passed down from generation to generation, becoming family heirlooms. These heirlooms watch over us, protect us, guard us, and judge us. They are the eyes of those that have come before, reminders to not forget where and who you come from. However, these objects that once held deep value often end up in boxes, get dusty, and then are passed down again. We hold onto them out of guilt and a need to connect with the past despite the known judgement.
By keeping these precious objects in our homes and continuing this tradition of passing the piece from one hand to another, it is imbedded with energy. The jewelry becomes representations of our ancestors and the values they stood for. These pieces of history come from the ancestors that held hopes and dreams for what their descendants would achieve. This project explores the questions of what these ancestors dreamed for their families and if we are living up to those expectations and the expectations of an immigrant family.
As a second generation American, I often find myself questioning what kind of life my ancestors dreamed for their descendants. It feels like my duty to uphold the family name and live up to their expectations and the jewelry becomes personified and takes on the qualities of those that came before me. They are reminders of the struggles and trials faced by my ancestors. In this series; I abstract family heirlooms to tell the stories of those that have held the jewelry before me. Some of the information is lost to the deep blue of the cyanotype and some pieces are clearer than others.