Remembrance by Denise ((bonaimo)) Sarram 

Assemblage 2020 14" x 14"

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board game substrate,  ancestor photo, paperclay, watch gears, wooden window frame, glass drawer pull, mixed media, transparency, tiny lights, vellum scenery

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This one is difficult to convey in photos, it unfolds to open and lights up-so I suggest you scroll down to the short video for a better look as well.

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This assemblage is a homage to my twin Great Uncles Mauricio and Bernardo. This photo is the only picture I have. It is actually just a photo of one boy which I duplicated and flipped and Photoshop. Which brother it is, I am not sure. When they were 7 years old they both became ill and died from the Influenza Epidemic of 1918 ("Spanish Flu").

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My Grandmother (Grandma Kitty) never spoke of her younger brothers and what little  information I have is from stories told by my mother.

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The front cover of this assemblage was particularly fun to make. The entire artwork is made from a repurposed "Scene It" board game. It is a circle that has two half circles that unfold. It gave me a lot of room to play. The wings were made by pressing soft paperclay into a silicone mold and letting them dry to a papier-mâché like material. I obsessed over adding the tiny gears from old watches to the wings.  Collaged paper, texture paste, stencils, distress inks and paint add layers of interest to the background.

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When you open it up, the inside features the twin brothers sitting on a stage with red curtains. Flick a switch behind the board and tiny lights illuminate a vellum scene of a house.