Alison Slein (b. 1970)

Reactions exhibition labels for adults and youths:

Can you empathize with the vulnerable thing in this photograph? It almost seems sickly, disturbing in its exposed state—as though its defenselessness is somehow a threat in and of itself.

About the Garden View series, Alison Slein stated: “The images represent an awkward communion with nature. The fragile and transient materials in these photographs are vulnerable to corruption and echo the corporeal human condition.”

Does this piece make you feel isolated; wondering not just what this thing is, but where it is and why, precisely, it is alone?

Hey Kids:

What do you think this is? Perhaps a strange piece of candy, a flower bud, or a small creature swimming in a pond? It looks soft, doesn't it? Vulnerable. As though it isn't quite meant to be there. Almost alien.

Does this make you uncomfortable, or do you want to reach out and touch it? Do you think it feels isolated? Maybe it makes you think of quiet time spent alone, the sunlight shining through a window or reflecting off the water.

When you think of this thing being alone, is your instinct to comfort it or to ignore it?

Labels by Shayna Diamond, 2021