SomeBody, a family tree

 

    Families take many forms but we all understand the idea of a family tree, a network that is both emotional and physical. When it works it's great but when it is damaged or when parts are missing we are shaped by the consequences. 

     After the page that asks question about self doubt and self esteem the book turns to our roots and asks us what is important and what family means to us. Part of the trunk stands up like a pop-up book but it is a dead trunk, there are no leaves, maybe it is an old tree. On the rest of the branches the leaves grow, the colours are bright and everything seems well. Each leaf is embroidered in 'braille' with the words 'mother', 'father', 'sister', 'brother', 'grandad', 'nan' and 'friend'; you can not see the words you have to feel them.

                  

...and there are still stab wounds, here they damage the trunk and the sky. The greens are a brief respite from the reds but the red is still glimpsed through the gaps.

  

  

   I leave the metaphors open to interpretation as it is not for me to say what they mean to a troubled teenager. What is difficult to ignore though is the fact that this tree is hidden behind the guts, it is as much a part of the human body as the physical anatomy. 

next up: the cobweb