A Flor de Piel 2013

Curator: Doris Salcedo’s “A Flor de Piel,” part of the Harvard Art Museums collection, is a work of monumental scale. Editor: It looks like a field of rust-colored rose petals, but something about the crumpled surface feels… heavy, burdened. Curator: The entire piece is meticulously constructed from thousands of preserved rose petals, stitched together. Salcedo often grapples with themes of loss and trauma in her work, especially in the context of political violence. Editor: Knowing that, it shifts. Each petal becomes a life, maybe? The sheer volume… it’s overwhelming, almost suffocating. You can feel the weight of those stories. Curator: Absolutely, the title itself, "A Flor de Piel," translates to "Skin Deep," hinting at the vulnerability and rawness of memory and suffering. Editor: Yeah, suddenly that initial beauty feels deceptive. It's more like a beautiful, terrible secret laid bare. Curator: It powerfully demonstrates how art can function as a platform for both remembrance and political discourse. Editor: Absolutely. It’s a stark reminder of what gets swept under the rug, disguised, but never truly disappears.