Along with his art historical ancestors, Diao’s actual family history plays a large role in his artistic practice. He has mined his own life, seeking subject matter as well as a means of processing and sharing his experiences. 'Maternal Grandfather’s Book 2' is Diao's first painting about the eponymous figure, having only learned about his life in depth when he first visited his mother in China after a 30 year absence. On this visit, Diao’s mother gave him a dog-eared copy of the book his grandfather wrote on ethics. This painting reproduces pages from this book, including a portrait of Diao’s grandfather, who was a powerful man, albeit one of complicated ethics. Diao’s narrative does not attempt to revise any of this history, only to re-present it. In Diao’s own words: "He was a revolutionary hero who helped to take down the Qing dynasty. Later as the governor of Sichuan province during the chaotic period of the warlords, he quelled a rebellion on the part of the Tibetans for independence. So, he was also a horrible imperialist. The Communists honoured him for securing Tibet for the People’s Republic. Deng XiaoPing – who later succeeded Mao – went to pay him homage and he was pensioned at the highest rank. I remember visiting him in his mansion which is now a museum named for him. Evidently he was literally larger than life having been very tall. As an intellectual schooled in the classics he got his rise through the old imperial civil service exams and was later asked by Sun Yet Sun to start a military academy. He did not accept this offer and the man who did, Chiang Kai-shek, went on to become the dictator who lost China to Mao. Maybe some of my mother’s tales are legends but fascinating nevertheless.”