Member Biography

ARTIST STATEMENT

"It is an acknowledged fact that, as we inherit physical attributes from our parents and forefathers, we also inherit talents. Beyond this there is an aspect of inheritance, which has fascinated me for many years, which is the inheritance of memory. Research shows that as the collective unconscious exists, it is possible also to consider that we do, indeed, possess some form of genetic memory.

In this new series of work, based on a group of trees at a Civil War battleground in Virginia, I considered the fact that the earth too could lend trees a more tangible form of genetic memory. Although the trees themselves were of no great age, the roots took up the residue of carnage and war.

In these mixed media works I graphically portray, in the upper branches and twigs of pen and ink work, an indication of nerves or brain cells in a labyrinth of endless knot to represent the residue of ‘genetic memory’ given by the earth itself.

‘Tree of Genetic Memory’ is now the homepage of Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, at Brown University."

BACKGROUND

Elizabeth is a resident of Indianola, Washington. Over the past 25 years her work has not only been influenced by an English heritage and her adopted Pacific Northwest, but also a sabbatical of several years during which she spent much time living in Asia. In 1990 the BBC produced a documentary detailing her method of work. She was a selected artist for both the English National Trust and Friends of the Earth. A series of portraits to commemorate The English Woodland Trust's foremost Preservation Sites were issued as a limited edition.

All Artwork Copyright
of the Artist.

For information about
prints and cards of these images
please contact the artist at ersmith@centurytel.net

View more of
Elizabeth Smith's art
at elizabethsmithprints.com

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