TIFFANY SHLAIN

Do you remember, at the beginning of Covid when it was like: is the world ending? We were all asking the big philosophical questions and yet told not to go anywhere. It was such an unusual time: What’s important? When will I die? This piece represents the deep pondering that period evoked.That’s what this piece represents to me. I remember when my father was dying, he was asking himself these same questions, things like: What matters? What’s important to me? So I thought it was this really unusual moment where everyone around the world was asking these big questions at the same time. 

This started as a miniature sculpture and then I photographed it from the back, so you as the viewer can be part of the experience. It also references Caspar David Friedrick, how he’s always doing paintings from behind. Sometimes collectors get these works individually, but I love when they get them together and they’re installed right next to each other. Because, again, it’s playing with that idea of scale.