Fell Off the Wagon

TYRRELL WINSTON (B. 1985)
Fell Off the Wagon
signed on the reverse of the uppermost basketball used basketballs, liquid plastic, steel and epoxy
72 x 9 x 9 inches (182.9 x 22.9 x 22.9 cm)
Executed in 2025.

NOTES: 
Born in Southern California in 1985 and now based in Detroit, Tyrrell Winston is a multidisciplinary artist whose work examines sport, celebrity, memory, and the systems through which cultural value is assigned. His practice began with collecting discarded objects from the streets and basketball courts of Manhattan and Brooklyn. By reorganizing worn basketballs, abandoned nets, and other found materials, Winston transforms overlooked objects into records of use, aspiration, and collective experience.

In Fell Off the Wagon, Winston stacks eight used basketballs into a narrow vertical column. Their scuffed surfaces, faded logos, and uneven coloration preserve evidence of repeated play, while the rigid steel structure imposes order on objects shaped by movement and chance. The precarious arrangement gives the familiar phrase “fell off the wagon” a physical dimension: the balls appear balanced between stability and collapse. By fixing them permanently in place, Winston interrupts their original function and transforms them into records of use. The work reflects his broader interest in “embedded history,” preserving discarded sporting objects while examining cycles of discipline, failure, recovery, and renewal.

Winston’s work has been presented internationally, with solo exhibitions at Cranbrook Art Museum, Library Street Collective, Stems Gallery, Volery Gallery, and LANDMARK and Belowground in Hong Kong. His work is held in collections including Cranbrook Art Museum, the Columbus Museum of Art, Nike, Aimé Leon Dore, and the Detroit Pistons.

Read our interview with Tyrrell Winston here.