Living Through Wildfire: Introduction · Lubos Culen

LIVING THROUGH WILDFIRE: INTRODUCTION

Andreas Rutkauskas’ studio practice is focused primarily on landscape photography. His artwork highlights the changes in landscapes as the consequence of industrial activity and its effects on environment. Living Through Wildfire is an iteration of the body of photographs documenting landscapes after wildfires that occurred between 2003 and 2021. One exception is a photograph of the Mount Christie Wildfire (2020) which is a dramatic view of a wildfire out of control. The various locations include sites in Alberta and southern British Columbia and the Okanagan Valley. The exhibition consists of nine large-format photographs complimented with a grid of nine smaller-scale images. Finally, a video with sound is projected onto the wall. The installation of photographs provides the visual background for the aftermath of the fires while a looping video of a helicopter brings the viewers the actual feeling of the environment during wildfires: smoke, helicopters flying in the air and the reverberation of their rotors fill the gallery space

For the past two decades, the Okanagan Valley was particularly prone to reoccurring wildfires, often with catastrophic consequences. The context of Rutkauskas’ artistic practice is based on the notion that examines the stewardship of the natural environment and how it is used. The artist advances the notion that fire might be destructive, but can also shape the environment in a positive way if used correctly. Rutkauskas references the practices of First Nations peoples who regularly burned low intensity fires in the underbrush in order to avoid catastrophic wildfires.

Rutkauskas focuses on the landscape in the aftermath of wildfires and documents various degrees of regeneration on sites after the fire. He has photographed the landscapes several years after the actual wildfires and captures the cycles of regeneration. Contrary to ubiquitous reports by the media showing the destructive nature of wildfires globally, Rutkauskas chooses to capture images of the renewed growth on previously burnt-out sites.

Rutkauskas’ photographs are contextually focused on climate change and its impact on the environment. As the consequence, the wildfire seasons are extended and more intense because of the accumulation of fuel loads in the forests and higher than average daily temperatures. The out-of-control wildfires are certainly taxing to citizens who live in the vicinity of forest fires. People living in the interface areas have to deal with uncertain outcomes about the possible loss of properties. The extensive evacuations in the areas threatened by wildfires add a level of anxiety and disruptions to peoples’ lives are disrupted for extended periods of time.

Despite the fact that Rutkauskas’ focus is on regeneration of the landscape after the fire, his photographs capture the essences of the layered histories of particular sites affected by wildfire. It is inevitable to realize that in the aftermath of the wildfire, the whole environmental balance has shifted. The fauna and flora have to adapt to the new environmental reality and this process may be ongoing for years to come. Nevertheless, for each viewer, Rutkauskas’ photographs offer views of regeneration while contemplating the possibly catastrophic effects of global climate change.

Lubos Culen Curator Vernon Public Art Gallery