On the surface, 'Family Tree Removal' depicts the process of chopping down an overgrown mulberry tree from an alleyway, but its roots belie darker truths about best-laid plans, unfulfilled potential, human fallibility, the fragility of friendships and family, and ultimately life and death itself. While these photographs address a straightforward narrative, Baumgarten's writings comprise years of complex meditation and analysis; together these elements explore the chaos and distortion so often caused by trauma.