“To destroy a people you must first sever their roots”

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, Nobel Prize 1970

Potato, an unremarkable and mundane vegetable, which we see and use daily, has been around for at least 7000 years according to different sources. It is a root vegetable that became a part of daily life: cultivated for centuries, became integral to traditional cuisine in different countries even far from the place of its origin. It fed the humanity, saved lives in the time of hunger and food shortage. It fascinates with its simplicity and value.

The art piece “A Part of” honors the root vegetable and its significance. The faces on potato represent our ancestors, an uncountable number of lives that matter. They brought us to our present.

Additionally, on a personal level, we know where we came from and cherish the traditions passed on to us. This illustrates the idea how we came from our roots and grow into them.