Burnt Drawings

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.