A Flor de Piel
I first saw Salcedo’s work in person at the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston in the late Summer of 2011 during the exhibition ICA Collection Sep 3, 2011-Mar 4, 2012.
On November 2nd, 2016 I was fortunate enough to see Doris Salcedo speak at the Harvard Art Museum. This was the opening celebration for her exhibition The Materiality of Mourning. It was on view November 4th 2016 - April 9th 2017.
There is a poignant sense of grief and loss when viewing theses works. Salcedo’s creation of this rose fabric and use of silk in her Disremembered pieces recalls how adept cloth is at expressing pain.
A Flor de Piel runs parallel to “Cosmia” in my mind.
Within the creation of the rose shroud as an object of protection and and the navigation of loss in “Cosmia”, there is a harmonization between becoming and ending. A conversation begins between the living and death. I cannot prevent, but I can protect.