Untitled

Salcedo’s sculpture implies the presence of an absent body. In works such as this, the artist uses domestic objects, altered so that they no longer function as intended, to confront issues of social injustice and political violence. Suggestive of the chairs used for brutal state interrogations, this work serves as a witness to the lives lost in Colombia’s civil war. Salcedo created wax and paper models in Bogotà, then had the steel parts fabricated in a New York foundry and shipped back to Colombia, where she reconfigured the sculpture in her studio, fastidiously hand carving wood grain into the seat and legs. While one could sit in the chair, its open back and cold surface render it uninviting; one back corner is crumpled, as if someone had used the chair as a weapon. Subtle traces of violence emanate from this common object, indelibly incised on its stainless steel surface.