We earn a commission for products purchased through some links in this article.
How Online Ceramics Captured the Gleeful Nihilism of 2020
The Grateful Dead-inspired LA designers discuss the political act of wearing a slogan, making art during a dark year, and the sweeter side of death
Online Ceramics
There is something about a T-shirt reminding you that ‘We’re All Going To Die’ that feels so awkward, so like a nervous laugh or a shudder passing over your skin. It also feels perfectly entwined with a year in which death suddenly appeared much closer.
In October, Los Angeles brand Online Ceramics printed the phrase onto one of their t-shirts, the words cheerfully bobbing above a heart emoji-framed planet earth like a cross-stitch of a deeply weird year. The Instagram post announcing the new release quickly became a meme encompassing life during the pandemic, but the idea for the slogan had actually been around long before the world went into various quarantines, lockdowns and tiers. "We were about to release it and then the pandemic hit and we knew we couldn’t do it right now," says Elijah Funk, co-creator of Online Ceramics, alongside Alix Ross. "As time has moved on it feels appropriate, because it’s not actually about the pandemic, it’s about existence throughout your daily life".