Fire Series, The

Julie Wagner

The pieces in these photographs are from a series begun in 1993. (Photographs omitted) I carved the figures from wood, saving all the scraps, chips, and shavings. When the piece was finished, I placed it outside, built a fire with the scraps from the piece, and let it bum until the scraps were consumed. At that point the piece was complete. I have always been interested in seeing my pieces "weather" -- in some sense seeing them take on a life of their own. I tried to set things up so that I could relinquish control and let the fire work its will on them. For me it was a means of letting go, of allowing chance to have a role in their final form.

Laurie Turner

Julie's calls "to burn" often came around sunrise. I was out of bed with cameras ready within a few minutes. We worked swiftly and quietly in the cold mornings ... transfixed for these few minutes by the fire and how it transformed these figures. ... I was an expectant and grateful witness to each burning.

Copyright Frontiers Publishing, Inc. 1995
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