Mishap
The $200,000 Selfie Domino
One crouch, one wobble, one very expensive chain reaction
Image: Unsplash
Incident ReportCOA / MISHAPS
Accidental Damage Rating
- Repair Cost
- ~$200,000
- Curator's Blood Pressure
- 93%
- Embarrassment Level
- 10/10
- Recovered?
- Partially
- Selfie Involved?
- Emphatically yes
A visitor crouched for a photo beside a row of crown-topped pedestals, lost her balance, and set off a domino collapse down the entire line of sculptures.
The installation at Simon Birch's 14th Factory presented a long row of pedestals, each bearing a sculpted crown. A woman lowered into a selfie squat, tipped the first pedestal, and gravity did the rest — a cascade of toppling plinths worthy of a slapstick reel.
The footage went viral. Estimated damage ran to $200,000. It has since served as the definitive parable of the selfie era's collision with contemporary art.