Compound YV gallery presents Coco Hall’s “The Heart is an Organ of Fire” opening reception this Saturday
The Heart is an Organ of Fire spans over ten years of Coco Hall’s work, envisioning both the precarious potential for fire and its horrific aftermath. In addition to the more blatant presence of flame, the show includes various ceramic and papier-mache ashtrays and cigarettes, referencing the human appetite for fire despite its destructive nature. The show even goes beyond humans to insects with a sculpture entitled “Moth in Flames,” which pokes fun at the proverbial moth drawn to a flame.
“The organizing principle is one of fire that was a starting point from a curatorial perspective because Caroline and I did a studio visit with Coco and we saw her candelabras. There’s one that’s plush and one that’s like a felted paper mache… There’s various references to fire. We have a grid of six gas cans that will be on individual shelves. On one of the walls there’s a shirt that’s up in flames and a trio of pants on fire. We have a cast glass revolver. So some of the pieces have heightened inflammatory quality, a combustibility if you will, given current events,” says Lara Wilson, Executive Director of Compound YV.
Because of the soft materials Hall uses, her work has a toy-like appeal even when confronting difficult and serious subject matter, inviting viewers into the darkly wry humor innate to our species.
“So there’s also this sort of tongue in cheek quality to some of the pieces that could be more playful and whimsical. I think Coco has a very dark but very nuanced sense of humor that is very relatable,” says Wilson.
Accompanying the show’s deceptive darkness—and, at times, its silliness—are near life-sized female figures embedded in white pillars, as if members of a Greek chorus or vigilant guards standing watch on either side of a fireplace. They observe everything, silently commenting on our actions, forced to bear the weight of the mantle as our fire rages on.
The Heart is an Organ on Fire opening reception is from 6:00 to 10:00 p.m. this Saturday at Compound YV, located at 55379 Twentynine Palms Hwy in Old Town Yucca Valley next to Snakebite Roadhouse. The event is free and open to the public.
