Peter's Blood

The exhaustive family tree of the descendants of Russian Tsar Peter the Great (b. 1672) and their interrelations. The tree follows Peter's children from 17th century until today, including most of the currently ruling monarchs in Europe.

The installation connects the affairs that once influence(d) the whole of Europe. It shows a circle of politicians where one enters through marriage and exits through death, connecting personal and emotional matters directly with the foreign politics.

The map is almost mathematically trying to explain the very dramatic and secretive relationships of the rulers - an obvious 'mission impossible' that historical story-telling often takes on, ending up with cruel generalizations or comical simplifications.

A drawing (size ca. 3m x 5m)
with gouache markers
Year 2010

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