Nicotine
1 of 2
Object Label
Karon Davis reflects on experiences of care and grief through this lifelike sculpture of a nurse or caregiver during a moment of repose. Nicotine—its title a reference to the mood-altering substance contained in the cigarette in the figure’s hand—was originally installed in a gallery that re-created the space of a hospital waiting room, a place in which the occupants experience time, hope, connection, and loss in acute ways. The tattered figure embodies the weight of healthcare work and expresses how people cope and rest when confronted with illness.
Caption
Karon Davis. Nicotine, 2016. Plaster, cloth, oil paint, synthetic hair, clothing, wire, shredded bills, coffee cup, wood, mirror, cigarette, 50 1/2 × 245 1/2 × 31 in. (128.3 × 623.6 × 78.7 cm) storage (2022 storage volume for seated figure on storage base): 58 × 58 × 36 in. (147.3 × 147.3 × 91.4 cm) storage (Tycore sandwich for storing Mirror): 2 × 52 × 20 in. (5.1 × 132.1 × 50.8 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Purchase gift of Beth Rudin DeWoody, 2018.2. © artist or artist's estate (Photo: Photo courtesy Wilding Cran Gallery, CUR.2018.2_WildingCranGallery_photograph.jpg)
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Artist
Title
Nicotine
Date
2016
Medium
Plaster, cloth, oil paint, synthetic hair, clothing, wire, shredded bills, coffee cup, wood, mirror, cigarette
Classification
Dimensions
50 1/2 × 245 1/2 × 31 in. (128.3 × 623.6 × 78.7 cm) storage (2022 storage volume for seated figure on storage base): 58 × 58 × 36 in. (147.3 × 147.3 × 91.4 cm) storage (Tycore sandwich for storing Mirror): 2 × 52 × 20 in. (5.1 × 132.1 × 50.8 cm)
Credit Line
Purchase gift of Beth Rudin DeWoody
Accession Number
2018.2
Rights
© artist or artist's estate
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