This is an elephant family carved into ebony wood. It was carved by an artisan in Sri Lanka where my father was born. It sat on the coffee table in the ancestral home of his father, located in the city of Galle. It was taken to Australia in 1971 when his family immigrated due to the ongoing civil war in Sri Lanka. When my dad came to the United States in 1989, it was the only item from the ancestral home that he brought with him. It is sentimental, because it represents his family’s roots, and reminds him of his early childhood in Sri Lanka.

– PJ

Relationship:  Im/migrant Im/migrant