Wall Sculptures
After the 2020 fire season and during isolation from COVID, I spent time observing changes due to the impact from external forces like fire, a pandemic and technology. Most of the objects exhibited were prepared and then photographed during the cold of winter. It is ironic that the objects are shown in the snow yet created by the forces of an inferno.
"Bicycle" serves as a tribute to a form of transportation that does not require dependence on fossil fuel. Many scientists have suggested that our dependence upon fossil fuel has contributed to global climate change and the increasing number and intensity of wildfires that threaten mankind's existence.
Bicycle
An homage to the 1913 "Bicycle Wheel" sculpture by Marcel Duchamp.
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Melted aluminum and steel painted in acrylic, enamel metal flake, and coated in clear urethane.
48H x 42W x 8D in.
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Molten
Melted aluminum, wire, and embedded gravel, painted in acrylic, metal flake enamel and coated in clear urethane.
49H x 43W in.
Almeda
Melted aluminum and embedded paver stones, painted in Acrylic, metal flake enamel and coated in clear urethane.
56H x 27W in.
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Quicksilver
Melted aluminum, gravel, painted silver enamel,
48H x28D in.
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The melting point of aluminum is 1220.58 °F (660.32 °C). This high temperature from the Almeda fire melted aluminum wheels, engine blocks, and drive trains in automobiles and aluminum siding on homes and carports. This object was salvaged from beneath one of the automobiles destroyed while parked in a garage that burned.
Detail of Almeda paver stones
Saguaro
Melted aluminum, painted in enamel and coated in clear urethane,
64H x 10W
The saguaro cactus can be found in Mexico and also in the Sonoran desert in Arizona - they grow up to 40 feet tall. This cactus can absorb and store considerable amounts of rainwater, slowly using the stored water as needed.
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Saguaro suggests that perhaps there will come a time when humans need to learn from the cactus in order to cope with the challenges that face our future.