This Feels Like [Wildfire] is an homage to California as my cradle; it’s a love letter to the land and people that raised me, who continue to shape me, and which I hold dear to my heart. It’s It’s also an exploration of the cycle of life, in conjunction with our changing seasons: Spring:Birth, Summer:Youth, Fall:Maturity and Winter:Death. This exploration specifically examines the recurring California wildfires, exacerbated as climate change continuously develops. In this project, I sought to recreate the California that exists in my mind (nostalgic, spiritual and brimming with vitality) while confronting the emotional toll that the wildfires reap on myself and others in an isolating manner. The result is both a call to action and a meditation on the cyclical nature of life. This Feels Like [Wildfire] urges viewers to confront the issues at hand, while offering perspective that life persists beyond our own constructs and timelines.

Fire burns the tree, but sows the seed.

Commissioned for ENVZN23 Urban Art Takeover: An arts festival by Vanguard Culture in collaboration with the World Design Organization, in honor of San Diego & Tijuana as joint World Design Capital 2024. Presented as a large-scale video installation with original soundscape by MALU. Made by hand with found materials and my own photographs developed in cyanotype.