Grandpa Bruce and
The Family Tree
Medium:
Oil Paint, Paper and Fishing Wire on Canvas
Dimensions:
20" x 18" x 2"
Artwork for Sale:
Yes
Year Completed:
2026
Description:
Grandpa Bruce and The Family Tree is a piece about Bruce Barrett and his wish for his family to continue in his genealogy footsteps. The book he holds is an actual book he wrote from the bottom of his heart in a way to connect not just his nuclear family but the roots, and branches of the whole family tree. The book, Thomas E. Barrett: The Emigrant, paints a picture of the Barrett family's lineage starting all the way back in 1775...In working with this piece, I became interested in the tension between my grandfather’s pride in our family’s emigration to America and the present-day realities of immigration. The distinction between “emigrate” (to leave one’s country) and “immigrate” (to enter another) describes the same act, but from different perspectives. That shift in language reflects a larger cultural divide—one that separates celebrated family history from contested, politicized narratives of migration today.
A closer look at the details in the piece reveals additional layers of meaning. The button on his necklace and the nasal cannula reference his ongoing health struggles over the past several years. In the bottom right corner, the cannula transforms into an organic, branch-like form, visually tying his breath and body back to the idea of the family tree. He sits in a chair from his home, grounding the piece in familiarity, while his open mouth suggests he is mid-story—still telling us stories to pass down.
At the center of the work is a question: what happens to these stories when he is no longer here to tell them? While he emphasizes the importance of remembering where we come from, the present moment complicates what that future might look like. History is repeating itself and unraveling for many of his family members such as the women in the family's rights being pulled back, the safety of his mixed-race grandchildren & great grandchildren are at risk, and security of his children's ability to stay in the United States is questioned.
The piece ultimately wonders what it means to document a family history in a time when that future feels unstable. If we continue his work, what will those pages hold? Will we be in those pages, will we be in America still? Or forced to leave it behind?
