FIRE FOLLOWERS
The exhibit "Fire Followers" aimed to give voice to forests impacted by the BC wildfires. This work was on view to the public at the Beaty Biodiversity Museum in Vancouver from fall 2020 until fall 2021. This exhibit showed the destruction but also the great beauty that comes from wildfire. By giving a voice to the forests, the aim was to bring greater awareness of the necessity of wildfire in building a healthy forest.
The paintings include charcoal that had been gathered from these forest fires in hopes that they immortalize the destroyed forests, celebrate the wildflowers that thrive off the destruction and show the beauty in the darkness. The exhibit included art, poetry, photographs, sketchbook studies by myself and written essays by my collaborative partner Sharon Roberts.
Exhibit
Artwork
Beauty rising from the ruin - Inspired by fireweed covering the ground a few years after a fire near Rock Creek BC.
Ivory lights - Inspired by the Three-spot mariposa lily found blooming in an area just months after a prescribed burn at ʔAQ’AM First Nations Community.
Rise again - Inspired by Lupine covering the ground a few years after a fire near Rock Creek BC
Pyrophyte - Pine cones are tightly sealed with their seeds locked in. The heat of a fire can melt the resin that seals them closed, setting the seeds free to grow new trees. The seeds love the carbon rich soil that the fire leaves behind.
Detail of work - Charcoal gathered from forest fires and acrylic on mixed media
Field Studies / Photographs / Research
Poetry
Video
This video shows the creation and process of the Fire Followers Exhibit.
“We view this exhibit as a living and breathing thing, just as the forests are – it’s just a sapling now, it’s soil freshly tilled. With the care and nurturing by all who contribute it will take on a life of its own and grow into something beautiful that we can’t yet imagine. Something as rich and diverse as the forests themselves.”
-Sharon and Megan
You can see more by visiting the Beaty Biodiversity Museum’s website HERE