“Tradescantia Zebrina II”, Charcoal, Graphite, Water and Eraser on Canvas, 2024, 48” x 60” (51” x 63” framed)
The title of this piece is the latin name for the plant named Wandering Jew. My father was born Harry Shapiro but took his mother’s last name of Jackson when she was finally able to divorce my grandfather due to his extrreme abusiveness and drunkenness. I named this painting thinking of the poetic aptness of hiding something named ‘Jew’ behind a latin name, and the ways, due to this act of solidarity to his mother, my father essentially cut that part of our history from our family tree. I know almost nothing of the Jewish side of my family as a result of this. And although Jackson is not a Latin last name, this act of obscuration alludes to the ways in which family histories are defined by a collection of personal choices. Choices that are part of the shape of our lives, but that also have knock on effects we can scarcely know.