Woody De Othello (b. 1991, Miami, FL)
Some Time Moves Fast, Some Time Moves Slow (2021–2022)

Some Time Moves Fast, Some Time Moves Slow is a monumental bronze sculpture by Miami-born artist Woody De Othello. Installed at Miami Worldcenter as part of its curated public art program, the work exemplifies De Othello’s distinct practice, which merges figuration with surreal, anthropomorphic objects to explore themes of vulnerability, time, memory, and emotion.

The sculpture depicts a seated, hunched figure, rendered in Othello’s signature expressive, slightly distorted style. The figure clutches a large clock—a symbol of suspended or distorted time—while a vintage telephone receiver rests on its shoulder, positioned as if awaiting a response. This composition evokes a sense of emotional weight, isolation, and longing for connection, all central to the artist’s broader practice.

Created between 2021 and 2022, the piece was conceived in response to the disorienting passage of time during the COVID-19 pandemic. In interviews, De Othello has described this period as a time when “days bled into each other” and when the presence—or absence—of communication became an emotional lifeline. The artist’s work often uses everyday objects to articulate complex psychological states. As he stated in a New York Times profile, “I use domestic objects as surrogates for the human body and emotional experience. They hold memory and history.”

Recurring motifs in De Othello’s work include clocks, fans, rotary phones, and air conditioners—objects he sees as extensions of the self. Clocks reference our perception of time; fans and air conditioners suggest breath, energy, and life force; while telephones become metaphors for intimacy, longing, and the need to be heard. His use of scale exaggeration—rendering mundane objects at monumental proportions—invites viewers to pause, reflect, and reconsider the emotional lives of these inanimate forms.

De Othello earned his MFA from the California College of the Arts and has exhibited widely at institutions such as the San Jose Museum of Art, the Museum of Arts and Design (New York), and the Pérez Art Museum Miami. His work is included in the permanent collections of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), the Carnegie Museum of Art, and the de Young Museum.

Some Time Moves Fast, Some Time Moves Slow resonates deeply in the public realm, offering a quiet moment of reflection amid the energy of Miami Worldcenter. Square Edge played a key role in managing its integration—coordinating logistics, installation, and artist collaboration to ensure the artwork’s emotional impact was preserved within the pace and complexity of large-scale urban development.