FALLEN LEAVES
Alexandra Haeseker. UV latex ink on Mayfair. 192 x 15 x 24 in. 2020.
FALLEN LEAVES is the title of my artist's book that represents my gathering of pieces from the natural world in the different countries I have lived in since childhood. From the Netherlands, to Indonesia, to New York City, Houston Texas, Central Mexico, and Western Canada, crossing over cultures and languages, I see my identity as a Canadian immigrant having been constructed from these myriad influences.
Each leaf represents something as profound as an individual fingerprint to me, tied to a specific location, and reflective of different backgrounds I have been a part of. The leaves partly cover my written personal history in the same manner that languages might have words missing—their meaning occluded—and so to be not necessarily understood completely.
I see my identity almost as geographical, tied to landscape, but one that exists not only as an external physicality, but also occupying a complex internalized terrain. Canada is this kind of place. My book might be considered as a trail of leaves left in a wake, the path I have always been on — leading me in two directions: back to my beginnings and forward to the future. Something fragile, enduring, and rejuvenating me as I evolve...