Named for prescribed fires that help prevent more destructive ones, these supervised interventions highlight existing associations with smoke and fire: modes of communication, political unrest, distress, inclement weather, and wildfires. By intentionally obscuring any sense of scale, the work is meant to inhabit the space between our desire to conquer and control nature and a planet in crisis because of it.
The work draws upon the controlled use of fire at the Vatican in Rome. When convening in secret to elect a new pope, the College of Cardinals uses black and white-colored smoke to communicate with the public. As the Cardinals use nature to convey messages, I equated the smoke columns of wildfires as nature's communication with us – larger, more frequent, and intense wildfires on a global scale are a clear warning on the climate crisis.
Under the guidance of a master pyrotechnist, I created custom compounds based on Rome's formulas. Their black smoke is produced by a mixture of potassium perchlorate, anthracene, and sulfur. The white is potassium chlorate, lactose, and rosin. I ignited small amounts of this material in a 10,000 square foot studio in Omaha, Nebraska. Progress was slow; it took hundreds of attempts to capture just a handful of successful images, echoing how nature is largely outside our control. In these rare moments of triumph, the images transcend into controlled burns in their own right.
I hope to question the long-term sustainability of present-day living and reveal the struggles – both practically and psychologically – of inhabiting a planet we are slowly destroying. To change the prevailing winds of climate change, perhaps we must fight fire with fire.
Controlled Burns are held in numerous public and private collections, including the Los Angeles County Museum of Arts, 21C, and The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.
