HERITAGE
Amber Gold & Turquoise Glass, Cast in Bas Relief
2026 – 22 x 9 x 4.5 inches
Heritage has been a very interesting theme to consider. We explored in our minds the many roads we could travel and found the map was filled with twists and turns.
Heritage is ultimately dependent on stories that are perpetrated through time. Some can be verified throughout history but most are reliant on belief. Stories of heritage can provide a feeling of security, evoking a sense of place in time and history. But it can also trap us into rules and expectations that inhibit our personal freedoms. Like anchors. An anchor that is the correct size holds you where you want to be securely, too large and you are hopelessly stuck, too small and you are adrift.
Then a special question came to mind. “How many people did it take throughout time, to arrive at each of us?” And a second question emerged “How many of those people did we actually know? What are the stories?” And finally the third question is the most impossible of all “Who were the first to start the evolution of you?”
The mathematic equation for the backward doubling that must occur becomes crowded and exponential very quickly. Some research revealed that the potential number of unknown generations of unknown ancestors for just one person, would be more humans than have ever existed in time. How fascinating!
Of course, these questions have always existed. We can only answer with stories. Some may be true, some may be false. Some advance entitlement, some secure poverty. Some seek to relieve our anxiety at our inability to know our origins by confidently proclaiming origin stories such as reincarnation, Adam & Eve, Zeus & friends, etc.
When examining how to express the backward doubling phenomenon, I tried many different patterns but found that the only way was through branching. The most natural expression of the indisputable fact, that it takes two to create one. At the top of the branches, they break away and become birds symbolizing the ancestors we can never know
Available July 3
Serge Lechaczynski – Galerie Internationale du Verre
Biot, France