TIFFANY SHLAIN

Swing State is a philosophical, participatory sculpture composed of three suspended swings with seats made from tree ring sections. The swings bear the inscriptions: “the world before you were here”; “you were here”; “you are here”; “you will be here”; and “the world when you are no longer here.” Together, the phrases form a meditation on presence, memory, and impermanence.​

Because swings move like pendulums, the work is also a physical visualization of time. The arc of each swing mirrors the movement between past, present, and future, while the material weight of the tree rings reinforces the literal and metaphorical gravity at the heart of the piece. Swing State invites viewers to experience these ideas through their own embodied physical motion.