Burnt Drawings

*Winter’s Sun*
Sunburn on paper
68×68 cm

Using sunlight and a magnifying glass in order to burn the outlines of a high definition NASA photograph of the Sun on paper, this drawing constitutes a solar self-portrait

*Strata-389 (Pyrocene Scenery)*
Scorched paper (pyrography)
47×47 cm

*White Flag (No Cosmic Truce)*
50x95x5 cm
Sunburn on paper

Each line was burned using 8 minutes and 19 seconds of sunlight, equivalent to the time it takes sunlight to cover the 149.60 million km distance between the Sun and Earth

*Index of Power (999 Suns)*
Sunburn on paper
27×35 cm

*Index of Power (9999 Suns)*
Sunburn on paper
37×37 cm

*Light as Smoke*
Scorched paper
30×42 cm

*They Come at Night*
Scorched paper
21×30 cm

*Writ in Water*
Perforated and burned paper
50×50 cm

*Monetary Residue*
Fire and the absence of coins on paper
30×42 cm

Money carries an abundance of cultural-moral connotations ranging from images of power and prestige to corruption and destruction. The use of cash money has gradually diminished in recent years and came to an almost complete stop during the pandemic. The digitization of money is a fact. This adds to the immense power of financial institutions while causing problems for people living on the fringes of society.

Incompatible Spirits (8)
Water and fire on paper
30×42 cm

*Incompatible Spirits (7)*
Water and fire on paper
30×42 cm

*Incompatible Spirits (3)*
Water and fire on paper
30×42 cm

The burnt drawings are the result of processes of incineration and scorching. Using sunlight, electricity or fire to heat specific areas of the paper to the point of destruction, these drawings are based on removal of matter instead of addition.

Historian Stephen J. Pyne has proposed the term Pyrocene – the Fire Age – as a concept by which to understand the current state of the world. The Earth is rapidly changing due to processes related to humans’ ever more extensive use of fire. In this sense the Anthropocene and the Pyrocene are complementary concepts. The core premise of the Pyrocene is that humans made an alliance with fire that propelled us to the top of the food chain, but now threatens to unhinge the entire planet. The grand question is whether our alliance with fire is a mutually benefiting pact or a Faustian bargain with the Devil? At the moment the answer looks rather gloomy.