David LaChapelle (American, 1964) The World is Gone (from The House at the End of the World series), 2005 Dye coupler print 15-1/2 x 23-1/4 inches (39.4 x 59.1 cm); sight (image) Signed in ink and numbered 6/10 on studio label, frame verso. The House at the End of the World series revisits themes from LaChapelle's early career, notions of transcendence and mortality, drawing heavily from art history and religious iconography to critique the materialism that has enduringly pervaded society for centuries. Recalling the memento mori of classical art history, this post-apocalyptic series asks the question, "When the world is gone, what is left, and who are we?" The figures have experienced an iconoclasm of sorts, their home, cars, and belongings are destroyed. The woman at left clutches a broken radio, the voice of God in her previous life, looking skyward now instead, hoping for a revelation. Her companion to the right, echoing the painted Madonnas and saints of old, stands with palms raised, as though preparing to receive a blessing, but her expression of shocked abandonment suggests that no act of salvation has yet appeared. HID03101062020 © 2020 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved