Raíces Community History
Ancestral Herbal Narratives
Botanical Illustrations Exhibit by Joyce Mo
About the Project
Editor’s Note: In early 2022, Highland Park High School graduate and former Raíces volunteer Joyce Mo reached out to our team. Currently studying at Princeton University, Joyce asked if she could spend the summer volunteering with Raíces on our Ancestral Herbal Narratives Community History Project, with the hopes of creating a series of botanical illustrations to supplement the materials available through this archival project.
Joyce was invited to join our Community History Project Panel for 2022, and decided to focus on botanical illustrations for herbs that are used both in the tropical region of South East China where her family is from and in the Caribbean. By illustrating plants that could be found in the traditions of her own ancestral culture, as well as, some of the Caribbean traditions that Raíces works to preserve, Joyce produced illustrations that can be utilized for cross cultural storytelling, research and preservation work.
In the summer of 2023, this project will be expanded with stories and articles about a variety of the herbs and plants illustrated in the exhibit.
View the Exhibit
Bitter Orange
Naranja agria
(Citrus × aurantium)
Ginger
Jengibre
(Zingiber officinale)
Goji Berry
Bayas de goji
(Lycium barbarum)
Croton
Crotón tiglio
(Croton tiglium)
Curcuma
Sal aromática de cúrcuma
(Curcuma aromatica)
Cinnamon Tree
Arbol de canela
(Cinnamomum verum)
Corydalis
Bayas de goji
(Lycium barbarum)
Honey Suckle
Crotón tiglio
(Croton tiglium)
Chrysanthemum
Crotón tiglio
(Croton tiglium)
Goat Yang
An exploration and representation of a Chinese creation myth from the folklore of the artist's family's home region in South East China.
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Project Support
This project is supported by a grant from the New Jersey Council for the Humanities with funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this website or in our programs do not necessarily represent those of the NEH or the New Jersey Council for the Humanities.
Grant funding has been provided by The Middlesex County Board of Chosen Freeholders through a grant provided by the New Jersey Historical Commission, a Division of the Department of State
