Hanging Family History is a three-dimensional map of Valerie Atkisson’s ancestry. It is also a portrait of all the known individuals that are part of her genetic make-up.

The structure begins with a paper triangle, wrapped over a wire frame with wire circles at two points on the triangle. The paper triangle at the top has Valerie’s name and birthdate written on it. Then two similar triangles are attached to the two wire loops at the bottom of her triangle with her mother’s and father’s vital information. Their parents are attached to those triangles, and so on for 72 generations, ending in 9 AD, the earliest family names in Valerie’s genealogy. 

Atkisson has created a number of sculptural hanging family histories. Hanging Family History (Matriarchally Oriented) and Hanging Family History (Patriarchally Oriented)  are similar but each follows one line of her ancestry first. Both include the same ancestors but since there was a lot of intermarrying and each person is on the piece just once, the triangles are in different places. Patriarchally Oriented starts with her Patriarchal line and ends with her Matriarchal line. Matriarchally Oriented is opposite – it starts with her Matriarchal line and ends with her Patriarchal line.

Hanging Family History (Matriarchal Line) includes only Valerie’s mother’s ancestors.