Family History Wall is an installation piece that was created on the walls of Artist Space Gallery in Soho, New York City, in the summer of 1999. It is a family history chart of Valerie Atkisson’s ancestry going back in time, one generation per column, for 72 generations. No single person’s name is repeated, but because of intermarrying, lines are drawn to the parents of an individual if he or she is already on the wall. The names and dates of ancestors are written over all obstacles in the space, and even on to the floor.