Nathan Coley – Burn the Village, Feel the Warmth, 2022

Nathan Coley’s works investigate the social and political impact of architecture and public space, and their influence on people’s behaviour and ways of thinking. Whether in installations, light sculptures, photography or video, Coley sees his artistic work as a means of establishing communication between a site and an audience: “Objects can speak in my absence”, he says. Nathan Coley’s work invites the viewer to reflect on, and engage with, issues of identity, ownership and belief.

Mounted on scaffolding, Nathan Coley’s illuminated signs consist of words taken from a variety of contexts, including extracts from historical texts, popular songs and snatches of conversation. The slogan Burn the Village, Feel the Warmth appeared on social networks following riots on the streets of London in the summer of 2011. It captured the feeling of discontent which had sparked the rioters’ anger. Taken from an African proverb, the phrase acts as a caution, warning mankind of the possible destruction which might ensue if the young are estranged from the discussions that drive society. The work has been placed in a disused railway factory. Nathan Coley was interested in how this phrase was appropriated from the spoken word to the written word — from oral history to being “texted” on a mobile phone — and its possible resonance in another context.