Photography and the Arts have long challenged ongoing dissonance after the displacement of people and its consequences. This month-long exhibition by Alan McFetridge observes the aftermath of the catastrophic Fort McMurray fire and asks…what happens after the flames have gone and there is silence?
Above: Pyrogram, 2016.
Join us in exploring the aftermath of this century’s most intense urban fire and the rapidly changing relationship between human expansion and the fierce face of fire. In May 2016, in the traditional lands of the Cree, Dene and unceded territory of the Métis, Fort McMurray, Alberta, the hub of Canada’s oil industry, was upturned by wildfire. The multi-billion-dollar disaster that raised entire neighbourhoods and drove 90,000 from their home in a single afternoon.
Artist and photographer Alan McFetridge visited Fort McMurray in October 2016, at the start of winter, and then again during mid-winter in 2017 to understand the local challenges in the aftermath of the Fort McMurray disaster and its meaning for life on Earth.
The scale of the Fort McMurray fire broaches the broader impact of local fire for the first time - this is the planet's physical reality. A.M.
The exhibition is an experiment that asks how photography can better address socio-ecological issues within climate change through poetics and offer a way of resisting the norms of documentary photography, rationale or civil disruption.
Above: A beast that has not been overcome by the forest of knowledge, 2016.
The photography is shown as an artist's manuscript, which is expanded onto the gallery walls and doorways as prints, text and sound and then synthesised with additional works by the transdisciplinary Centre of Ecological Philosophy*. These offer alternative perspectives on the same event with an essay by researcher Antoinette Johnson, community feedback from Fort McMurray by anthropologist Emma McLoughlin, Earth observation tools by data scientists Eric Yusef and Mohamed Mazy, a recorded discussion with artist Justin Hibbs, a peer-reviewed visual essay with Dan Devit and two Dialogue Evenings.
A Dialogue Evening on 17 April expands the projects beyond artistic interpretation. Fort McMurray resident and collaborator Megan Bastien and Alan McFetridge will mediate a discussion between people at the exhibition in London, online and the Fort McMurray residents. Each night will include a keynote speaker. I would love you to attend these, email here for a link or more information
*During the pandemic, UKGOV provided funding to form an arts research team, the C.E.P.
Exhibition Programme*
Subject to Change. Please review before visiting
Wednesday, April 3:
19:30 - 21:30 Opening Night
Saturday, 6 April:
12:30 - 13:30 | Artists Presentation / Talk*
13:45 - 14:45 | Earth Observation Software Demonstration*
15:00 - 16:00 | Sight or without Sight - Group Activity*
(Participants take turns describing the colour of a photograph’s voice to others in the room. Blindfolds are provided for sighted participants)
Friday 12 April:
12:30 - 13:30 | Artists Presentation / Talk*
13:45 - 14:45 | Earth Observation Software Demonstration*
15:00 - 16:00 | Sight or without Sight - Group Activity*
(Participants take turns describing the colour of a photograph’s voice to others in the room. Blindfolds are provided for sighted participants)
Wednesday, April 17:
19:30 - 21:30 (UK), 12:30 - 14:30 ( Fort McMurray) | Fire Dialogues 1. Discussion between Fort McMurray resident Megan Bastien and Alan McFetridge, a hybrid in-person /digital event - booking advised - email here for reservations.
Friday 19 April:
12:30 - 13:30 | Artists Presentation / Talk*
13:45 - 14:45 | Earth Observation Software Demonstration*
15:00 - 16:00 | Sight or without Sight - Group Activity*
(Participants take turns describing the colour of a photograph’s voice to others in the room. Blindfolds are provided for sighted participants)
April 22: Earth Day - Gathering
Sunday 28th
12pm - 4pm Celebration Forro Dancing & Exhibition Closing
*Due to possible changes in the Gallery’s availability, these events are subject to change. Please email here for places and in case of change.
Above: There is many a home still to be rebuilt, 2017. 150cm x 184cm
Above: Can you unlearn belief in great events and their big smoke and bellowing? 2017.
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