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(2014) The idea for this piece was spawned in two parts. First, a friend posted an article on how phobias could be passed down in the DNA from the experiences of ancestors and I found this a compelling concept for a piece.

Second, I began investigating my own lineage on Ancestry.com. I was able to trace my roots back to 16th century Scotland where James Macnab / McNab (the standardization of clan names varied at this time) was captured by Oliver Cromwell's army during the English Revolution. A prisoner of war, he was shipped to the American colonies in 1652 on a ship called the "John and Sara". Arriving in Massachusetts he was an indentured servant for the next 7 years, working to build a young America. This was the first American McNabb.

This piece connects the dots in my voyage through ancestral findings and has allowed me to play detective and researcher. The arm is my own and the plaid design in the blood pool is the official tartan of the highland clan McNab.

I've always nurtured a healthy obsession with ships. Perhaps James Macnab's journey across the sea burned so deeply in his experience that the hereditary impact landed partly in my own DNA. For me, its legacy remains on a two dimensional surface, a rediscovery that this world is actually flat.