Salcedo’s practices aim to address the issues rather then activating against them. Atrabiliarios was conceived in response to testimonies of the mourning families who suffered from these events. The artist gathered belongings from relatives and loved ones of those who disappeared during the Colombian Civil War, an armed conflict that began in the 1960s. Atrabiliarios embodies a distant memory which draws an emotional exchange with the audience. The unsettling materials used such as animal fibre, surgical thread and shoes that belonged to the deceased all tell harrowing tales of trauma and …show more content…
Each painted leaf correlates with a native plant from the country of the banknote. These plants chosen have become endangered as a result of economic pressures to grow commercial crops. The delicate painting of the leaf reveals the bank note behind. This techniques allows the eye of the viewer to move from one to the other provoking thought and dialogue. This piece is an expression of the economy and its capability of dismissing environmental concerns such as climate change.The choice of leaves in this artwork narrates to the audience that natural plant matter is often the base of material used to create money. It is multilayered, using mixed mediums with unusual materials conveying a multitude of meanings and ideas. When viewing the audience immediately notices how flexible and skeleton like these images are, Hall purposely pins these notes to a wall so they can appear that way revealing an intrinsic and almost ephemeral outcome. The contrast between a leaf and a bank note leaves the audience to consider interrelationships between the natural world and the commercial world.
Doris Salcedo and Fiona Hall, both artist with questionable approaches to their artworks share the same intention of raising awareness by challenging the viewers. Both artist use a range of emotions such as loss, grief, humour and wit to gather a range of