Hanging Fire by Cornelia Parker stood out as my favorite piece at the ICA. It is an amazing 3 dimensional collection of suspended charcoal. When one first enters the room its exhibited in its beauty commands your attention and it consumes the room forcing the viewer to examine it more closely. It almost appears to be a charcoal drawing with the jet black pieces of wood against the brilliantly white backdrop of the wall. Then some more sinister meanings seem to drift through my thoughts as charcoal is often a somber sight seen on the ground. It is juxtaposed and organized as though it is still a fire with the larger pieces at the base. By doing this she successfully brings weight to something that should have none. Something destroyed but brought back to life by suspension. This maybe even a study of how so many artist used this piece of death and destruction in charcoal drawings to create something again. Its subtitle Suspected Arson and that she stole the charcoal from a crime scene also works with this theme.
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