Robert Pershing Wadlow, also known as the Alton Giant and the Giant of Illinois, was an American man who was the tallest person in recorded history for whom there is irrefutable evidence. He was born and raised in Alton, Illinois, a suburb of St. Louis, Missouri. Wadlow reached 2.72 m in height and weighed 199 kg. His great size and his continued growth in adulthood were due to hyperplasia of his pituitary gland, which results in an abnormally high level of human growth hormone (HGH). Even by the time of his death, there was no indication that his growth had ended. Wadlow became a celebrity after his 1936 U.S. tour with the Ringling Brothers Circus, appearing at Madison Square Garden and the Boston Garden in the center ring (never in the sideshow). During his appearances, he dressed in his everyday clothes and refused the circus's request that he wear a top hat and tails. In 1938, he began a promotional tour with the International Shoe Company, which provided him shoes free of charge, again only in his everyday street clothes. Wadlow saw himself as working in advertising, not exhibiting as a freak. On July 4, 1940, during a professional appearance at the Manistee National Forest Festival, a faulty brace irritated his ankle, leading to infection. He was treated with a blood transfusion and surgery, but his condition worsened due to an autoimmune disorder. He died in his sleep on July 15, 1940, at age 22.

The project had been preceded by a discussion about the size of the work, of which I was also a part. I had been given free rein to do whatever I wanted, but the size was something that needed to be decided before I started. Tape was put up on the wall to mark the occupied surface. The tape was taken down, put up again, to be taken down again and put up. In text messages, we discussed what impact the size would have, and where the limit goes for how large the artwork can be. When I was going to start, size did not become so important. What fascinated me was rather how one single factor - in a combination of lots of factors - can become so decisive. Robert Pershing Wadlow was many things, but it was his length that came to define both his life and his death.