Rolling thunder on the mountain
Elements in a status change series #9
SKU 915
Mixed media on canvas
Dimensions 142,5 x 92 cm
This painting on paper, using only two colors—black and ochre—is part of a series dealing with natural disasters, particularly wildfires. In this case, the theme relates to the approach of a storm and the sense of scale it evokes. The lightning and the sound of thunder lend the environment a twilight hue. The nature depicted here has the ambivalence of representing both sanctuary and the threat of danger from the sky.
In 2017, a year before the massive protests against climate change, the Mação region in Portugal was decimated by a fire that left behind one of the largest areas of burned forest ever. The fire had already ravaged the region in 1991 and 2003, but this time it was much worse because almost everything burned with incredible speed and intensity, the action of the combat resources was ineffective and the result was a dramatic scenario of scorched earth.
If, on the one hand, the series “Elements in a status change” arises from the impact of fires on the landscape, on the other, it also has to do with the “air of the times” which are producing major changes not only in terms of the climate but also in what concerns the pressure on nature that has its capacity for regeneration put to the test. The author reflects on how these changes and the changes that are underway have an impact on the landscape from which he gathers much of the inspiration for his work