Tom Otterness’ work investigates the nature of public monuments, their social and psychological implications, and their artistic value. A founding member of Collaborative Projects Inc., Otterness considers his small figurines as carriers of a mock monumentality. The Tables, an installation begun in 1986, invites the viewer to enter a new frame of reference—of cultural memory, parody, and allegory. From a child’s perspective, the audience sinks into an unreal world where distortions in scale, role, and relationship among characters help to reveal the almost surreal scene taking place in the work.