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Red Coat

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The title of later work, Red Coat, functions in a similar way as in Burr Coat, only its resulting message has a much more sinister undertone. Here, the coat is covered not in nature that pricks but culture that kills. The “red coat” is a symbol of the British army, but the coat in Red Coat is actually a Canadian WW I greatcoat, now covered entirely in plastic red poppies—the symbol of the fallen soldier. Hamilton’s message is a euphemism, like the expression “fallen soldier” and the title Red Coat. Now Red Coat stands for the symbol of a bloody death on the battlefield where poppies grow, row by row. Pricked by the pins that hold these poppies onto Red Coat when we try it on, we performatively acknowledge the blood shed it symbolizes.

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  1. Anitra Hamilton, Red Coat [detail], 2011. Wool coat, dressmaker’s judy, plastic poppies. 5’H x 2’W x 18”D. Courtesy of the artist and Georgia Scherman Projects, Toronto.

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