Entering Wildfire

Photo by Ethan Turpin

Ethan Turpin and myself like to film or use film of inaccessible places and project the results on screens that immerse viewers in the experience. Entering Wildfire was just such a piece. The fire imagery we used was made by U.S. Forest Service researcher and filmmaker, Ian Grob. It showed fire engulfing forested regions of Mississippi and was originally made as B roll for a movie about emergency fire shelters.

Entering Wildfire was an installation for a benefit event at Bren School, UCSB. The organizers found a tall, empty room in an adjacent building for us to use.  With logistical and intellectual help from architect, Justin Harmon, we spent a couple of days filling it with a large half circle of 15 tall scroll screens; 7 hanging in front and 8 in the back. These were then broken down into 3 sets of 5 screens on which we projected the fire imagery.

photo by Ethan Turpin

All of the clips we chose started with a bucolic wooded backdrop. A wisp of smoke appeared and was followed soon after by a rush of fire that was so intense it engulfed the screens. As the fire diminished, it left behind a devastated landscape of charred brush and drifting smoke. Standing in the center of the installation and being surrounded by such a ferocity of sound and fury was a disturbing experience.

Photo by Ethan Turpin

Photo by Ethan Turpin