Willie Cole: AQUAHALLIC

September 24 – December 4, 2015

808 Gallery
808 Commonwealth Avenue

Internationally renowned artist Willie Cole creates sculptures and installations that alter everyday materials, such as irons, shoes, and bicycles, into layered artworks with multiple autobiographical, art-historical, and socio-political meanings. In AQUAHALLIC, Cole presents a series of chandeliers and a 1959 El Dorado, created specifically for the exhibition, made from repurposed plastic water bottles. In these works, Cole both transforms and exploits the objects’ former associations to realize new artworks that speak to the paradox of the impact of plastic upon the environment and water as the ultimate life force. Additionally, Cole’s installation in the 808 Gallery responds to the space’s unique architecture detailing and its former use as a Cadillac showroom.