One of the few projects to keep it's basic shape from beginning to end.To get started with this behemoth we went out and harvested a massive amount of olive tree branches from the burn piles that abound the surrounding groves of Firenze. this had the wonderful result of turning our workshop into a verifiable forest of possiblities. Even though it became hard to move around in this forest workshop with the top end of an olive grove filling up most of the space we still somehow decided that we should first prepare the background.

We wanted to create a nebula like effect but nothing too concrete just a hint at a univerisal theme.This was chosen to contrast the fact that we were doing a particular portion of history and contrast can be useful when trying to illustrate a point (i.e. black text on a white background). The nebula began coming toghether once we mined up 4 pieces of a standing closet and connected them together using old window frame. After we had our canvas we ventured down to the Accademia di Belle Arti di Firenze and got some wonderful tips from an old ogre who told us that we - as an engineer and a lawyer - should probably try and write beautiful sentences instead of making art. we actually loved the idea of making beautiful sentences and we have endeavored to make all of our titles beautiful sentences from that day on. In addition, this great man also gave us a very useful painting technique and after some experiments we really felt ready to start messing up the canvas. and after fighting with each other and some paint brushes for a few days we produced a background we both loved.

When we finally got around to the tree part of the tree our friend Nick Tomasino (P-Bug!) was there to help us braid together hundreds of branches in order to construct the shape of the piece. It was wonderful and fascinating to work with these branches as they seemed to bend in nearly impossible ways and to have a durability that stretched beyond what rationality would dictate. they also have a natural beauty to them and I remember feeling privalaged to be painting the canvas with such funky and elegant material, Thanks nature. Leaving it to sit for a month or two we eventually placed all the pictures from our selective history (Europe only as we were doing this for EUI), first dipping them into melted wax and then placing them into the treeline we had created. The project was rather experimental and we are more excited about the things we learned than about the piece itself, but it's usually that way.

The piece sat for almost two months before we eventually placed all the pictures from our selective history (Europe only as we were doing this for EUI), first dipping them into melted wax and then placing them in a tree formed historical order. The project was rather experimental and we are more excited about the things we learned than about the piece itself, but it's usually that way. It's quite a challenge trying to define the famed icons of europe, largely because it's hard to say exactly where europe starts and Asia, the middle east or even africa begins and many of the most important people in history were making thier particular clamour right there on those borders. So in the end we did what we always do and just made a subjective desicion to place who from where and when here and then. The birthyear is inscribed on the back of every photograph but not his name or his origin giving the viewer a chance to interact and attempt to guess who these famed icons are. It was an experimental piece and in all honesty we got more education out of this piece than we did satisfaction.