Contents
Doris Salcedo
Creating sculptures and installations that confront violence, loss and remembrance.
Unland: The Orphan’s Tunic · Shibboleth
- Born
- 1958
- Birthplace
- Bogotá, Colombia
More people
Doris Salcedo
Doris Salcedo is a Colombian sculptor whose work transforms furniture and everyday materials into memorial forms. Testimony from people affected by violence has shaped her practice.
Early life
Bogotá
Grew up in Colombia, where political violence later became central to her work.
Art education
Studied at Jorge Tadeo Lozano University and completed further training in New York.
Career
- 1980s
Return to Colombia
Returned from New York and taught in Bogotá.
- 1990s
Sculptural language
Developed works using domestic objects to address disappearance and mourning.
- 2007 onward
Major installations
Presented large public works including Shibboleth at Tate Modern.
Selected work
Unland: The Orphan’s Tunic
Joined furniture, fabric and hair in a work about loss.
Shibboleth
Opened a long fissure through Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall floor.
Fragmentos
Created a counter-monument in Bogotá using melted weapons.
Beyond work
Listening to survivors
Research and testimony are central to the making of her works.
Family
Her husband, Azriel Bibliowicz, is a novelist and sociologist.
Sources & photo credit
Life, career and references ↗Institutional source ↗Photo: David Heald. CC0 · Original image. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.
