Which Side Are You On, Now? Tell Me, Which Side Are You On?

Which Side Are You On, Now? takes its title from the labor anthem, transposing its urgent question of solidarity and allegiance onto the bodies of the Campus Cuties. Here they are cast in wax and elevated on columns as caryatids, the female figures from ancient Greek architecture condemned to bear the weight of structures both physical and symbolic.

The installation took shape during a period of prolonged social instability, as public trust, collective responsibility, and democratic norms felt increasingly strained. Elevation here does not equate to power. It suggests endurance, proximity, and the cost of remaining upright within systems that consume you.

The burning candles introduced a slow, visible transformation. Wax softens, drips, and collapses over time. Fire becomes both witness and agent, offering illumination while signaling depletion. It is vigilance coupled with fatigue.

As each figure burned through the duration of the exhibition, it transformed from a symbol of support and aspiration into evidence of endurance, labor, and loss. The work asks who is expected to bear the brunt, and what it costs to keep standing.

Wax figures, columns. 2023-24.