We is a mapping of a genealogical network, connecting the artist with a woman awaiting execution in a US prison. The artist and prisoner are distant cousins, they share a great grandmother, Maria Arpad of Hungary (1257-1323). Maria is in the center of the mapping and the names of her descendants radiate from her, connecting each child to their parent.
Genealogy is an international pastime of huge proportions. Every day more of us know exactly how we are related. Will this acute awareness of our interconnectivity change how we judge people whose lives are very different from ours? If we knew that a cousin, even if distant, had committed a violent crime, would we feel guilt towards their victims? Would knowing how we are related to the perpetrator influence how we want them to be punished?
The genealogical data is borrowed from geni.com – a crowd-sourced genealogical database.
