Self reflection in the third person through Doris Salcedo's exhibition

Emma was buzzing full of energy and expectation, impatient to see the exhibition at the White Cube. It was fairly early in the morning and the city was dimmed in grey light. As she entered the gallery, her eyes became transfixed by the sombre atmosphere of Doris Salcedo’s entombing monumental pieces. Walking around the concrete cast furniture reminded her of the labyrinthine and austere Jewish Memorial in Berlin. She crept around delicately, self-conscious of the sound she was making in such a quiet uncanny environment. She crouched down and scanned at the imperfections of the concrete surface that recalled wounded skin.

As she walked around, at every turn she was confronted with an unexpected and traumatic assemblage of furniture. Her mouth gaped open when she saw the chair violently jammed into a solid closet so that its legs protruded on the other side. The element of surprise and jarring of the norm threw her off balance and stimulated her to see things differently. It made her think about the role the artist has to challenge and stimulate ideas. Wardrobes and cabinets merged into unnerving similarities. She felt uneasy about the way they disappeared and reappeared. Shivers tingled down her spine when she spotted a delicate detail of stiffened lace partially buried in the concrete. To her, fabric was synonymous with a second skin and had a bodily quality. Emma found the inanimate objects in the installation more and more disturbing as they became layered with her new associations. The eerie silence in the gallery enhanced her experience of being in a morgue.

After a while Emma began to project her experiences of past tragedies and blocked up memories onto the sculptures. She recalled the Menezes incident, the London bombings and the terrible knot they generated in her stomach. The concrete wardrobes became temporary extensions of her inner buried fear and panic. She thought about the importance for artists to create an introspective and philosophical interface for issues that are forgotten in the busy bustle and rush of city life. She contemplated how her perception of the art had changed whilst being in the gallery. The scale, familiarity and interaction with the objects had deepened her understanding of Salcedo’s intentions. She articulates the human experience of the aftermath of violence and terror by referencing those victims who have 'disappeared' in her own country.

Emma reflected on how courageous and brave the artist was to present the political controversy of her home country where fear overwhelms the minds. She pondered about how as an artist, she was displaying her vulnerability; she was laying herself open to comment and criticism by exposing her personal feelings and wounds to the public realm. This gave Emma a new dimension on what it meant to be an artist.

She reflected on her experience of the exhibition as she walked back to the tube. The artist can get the viewers to think about and challenge political and life situations by the changing the way they look at things. She thought how artists can share their own emotions and feelings through their work and the centrality of this in the role of an artist.

By Maria SB 2 November 2007