Willie Cole USA, b. 1955
Hot Body #1, 2013
Scorch on paper
24 x 18 in
61 x 45.7 cm
61 x 45.7 cm
7720
Further images
This work by Willie Cole was created by repeatedly scorching a paper surface with a hot iron. Cole utilizes multiples as a way of transforming the viewer’s relationship with images...
This work by Willie Cole was created by repeatedly scorching a paper surface with a hot iron. Cole utilizes multiples as a way of transforming the viewer’s relationship with images and objects. In this case, the iron scorches become like atomic particles that make up the body of the figure in the work. It’s common within Cole’s practice to use Western consumer objects to convey motifs common to African art. The femininity of the figure in this piece echoes similar feminized figures that Cole makes out of luxury shoes, which in turn echo female sculptures made by the Senufo people of West Africa. The tongue-in-cheek title of the work conveys a dual meaning, assigning attractiveness to a figure defined by a tool of domestic labor, while also referencing the energy source responsible for burning the image onto the surface.