Fin de siècle can be read as being about the AIDS pandemic, and it is intended as a self-portrait of General Idea, with the seal pups representing group members Felix Partz (1945–94), Jorge Zontal (1944–94), and AA Bronson (b.1946). Zontal characterized the installation as a representation of the artists “adrift in uncontrollable circumstances,” alluding to the impact of the AIDS crisis, which had a direct bearing on the artists’ friends and community. Here the innocent nature of the seals emphasizes that some lives are more valuable than others. “It’s easier to sell ‘save the seals,’ or ‘save the children with AIDS,’” Zontal maintained, “because they’re cuter, rather than three middle-aged homosexuals.”   Partz and Zontal passed away in 1994 due to AIDS-related complications.   This Spotlight is excerpted from General Idea: Life & Work by Sarah E. K. Smith.