Exhibition Opening: Fire is Coming

About the Exhibit:

I listen to the radio and in early 2024 I increasingly noticed phrases such as “wildfire season,” “zombie fires” and “evacuation alerts” in news reports. In Fire Is Coming, I use collaged text from news reports on thrifted woollen blankets and paper to examine the language used by news media to report fires.

To construct the blankets I hand draw text from news headlines onto paper to create patterns for cutting fabric. I then stitch the resulting fabric words and numbers by hand on to the blankets. The collages are much smaller yet also require time and focus. I hand cut letters an inch or two high from paper and then paste them onto ink drawings and wilderness images from vintage magazines.

Deliberately using familiar materials and a slow working method for the blankets and collages provides a means to pause, integrate and hopefully make sense of news reports by granting the words and numbers a material and long-lasting existence. Through the act of domestic craft, the work presents information in a non-violent way that evokes tangible materiality and thus security, even as that security is exploded by the words and figures on view.

My wish is that these works grant the viewer space and time to reflect upon what is happening in this moment, and how the media has the power to both catastrophize and normalise the phenomenon of ever-increasing fire.

The Event

Doors will open at 6:00, with Clare's talk beginning around 6:30 PM. After Clare shares her thoughts on the exhibit, the event will shift into a group conversation surrounding some of the key themes that Clare shared. There will be snacks and light refreshments!

Clare Thomas

Clare Thomas, (b. Lisbon Portugal,) is a British-Canadian artist living on the traditional lands of the lək̓ʷəŋən speaking peoples, Victoria, BC, Canada. She uses a place-based, multi-disciplinary approach to investigate personal loss and environmental change.

Thomas has an MA in Art and Environment, Falmouth University, UK. She is co-founder of two long running Victoria BC-based collectives: BOXCARSIX (2016-2024) and DreamCityCollab (2020-present). Her work has been shown in Canada, Germany, France and the UK.

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