Fallen
2004–ongoing

Inspired by a dream, Jane Hammond began collecting the leaves that are the basis of her sculptural installation Fallen in 2004. Gathered in different deciduous states, every leaf is then scanned into a computer, printed in color front and back, touched up, and cut out from the paper, with holes and imperfections rendered for maximum naturalism. Hammond then inscribed the name of an American soldier who had "fallen" in the Iraq war on each leaf before adding it to her forest floor, a brilliant array of reds, oranges, yellows, and browns, covering a rectangular base whose ground-level positioning encourages viewers to get close enough to read the names. What first appears as a beautiful assortment of autumn foliage is in fact a commemoration: Fallen’s 4,487 individual components concretize the number of lives that have been lost. The work’s dimensions are function of time: Hammond added new leaves to the piece as American soldiers’ lives were lost in the Iraq war.