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Mapping material like bark beetles mark phloem 🪲

This work, The Five Houses of the Earth, is now being shown with @onetrickponygallery

𝑬𝒄𝒐𝒈𝒏𝒐𝒔𝒊𝒔 is open until the end of May <3

Mapping material like bark beetles mark phloem 🪲

This work, The Five Houses of the Earth, is now being shown with @onetrickponygallery

𝑬𝒄𝒐𝒈𝒏𝒐𝒔𝒊𝒔 is open until the end of May <3

Mapping material like bark beetles mark phloem 🪲

This work, The Five Houses of the Earth, is now being shown with @onetrickponygallery

𝑬𝒄𝒐𝒈𝒏𝒐𝒔𝒊𝒔 is open until the end of May <3

Mapping material like bark beetles mark phloem 🪲

This work, The Five Houses of the Earth, is now being shown with @onetrickponygallery

𝑬𝒄𝒐𝒈𝒏𝒐𝒔𝒊𝒔 is open until the end of May <3

Mapping material like bark beetles mark phloem 🪲

This work, The Five Houses of the Earth, is now being shown with @onetrickponygallery

𝑬𝒄𝒐𝒈𝒏𝒐𝒔𝒊𝒔 is open until the end of May <3

Mapping material like bark beetles mark phloem 🪲

This work, The Five Houses of the Earth, is now being shown with @onetrickponygallery

𝑬𝒄𝒐𝒈𝒏𝒐𝒔𝒊𝒔 is open until the end of May <3

Mapping material like bark beetles mark phloem 🪲

This work, The Five Houses of the Earth, is now being shown with @onetrickponygallery

𝑬𝒄𝒐𝒈𝒏𝒐𝒔𝒊𝒔 is open until the end of May <3

Mapping material like bark beetles mark phloem 🪲

This work, The Five Houses of the Earth, is now being shown with @onetrickponygallery

𝑬𝒄𝒐𝒈𝒏𝒐𝒔𝒊𝒔 is open until the end of May <3

Mapping material like bark beetles mark phloem 🪲

This work, The Five Houses of the Earth, is now being shown with @onetrickponygallery

𝑬𝒄𝒐𝒈𝒏𝒐𝒔𝒊𝒔 is open until the end of May <3

Mapping material like bark beetles mark phloem 🪲

This work, The Five Houses of the Earth, is now being shown with @onetrickponygallery

𝑬𝒄𝒐𝒈𝒏𝒐𝒔𝒊𝒔 is open until the end of May <3

Mapping material like bark beetles mark phloem 🪲

This work, The Five Houses of the Earth, is now being shown with @onetrickponygallery

𝑬𝒄𝒐𝒈𝒏𝒐𝒔𝒊𝒔 is open until the end of May <3

Mapping material like bark beetles mark phloem 🪲

This work, The Five Houses of the Earth, is now being shown with @onetrickponygallery

𝑬𝒄𝒐𝒈𝒏𝒐𝒔𝒊𝒔 is open until the end of May <3

“ECOGNOSIS” opens Saturday Night, April 25th, 6-8pm: A Visual Dialogue Between @marygortanistudio & @juliabennett___ that can not be denied & should not be missed
⚡️👑⚡️

“ECOGNOSIS” opens Saturday Night, April 25th, 6-8pm: A Visual Dialogue Between @marygortanistudio & @juliabennett___ that can not be denied & should not be missed
⚡️👑⚡️

𝑬𝒄𝒐𝒈𝒏𝒐𝒔𝒊𝒔 opens in LA at @onetrickponygallery this Saturday. I would love to see you there 🌀

𝑬𝒄𝒐𝒈𝒏𝒐𝒔𝒊𝒔 opens in LA at @onetrickponygallery this Saturday. I would love to see you there 🌀

Now showing : A Third Hand
@hurstcontemporary in collaboration with guest curator @thomoosterhofprojects
24 April - 28 May

Delighted to be apart of this show 🕸️

“Inspired by Philip Guston’s epiphany, ‘I think that everyone who creates anything knows there is a moment when a third hand is doing it, this exhibition is a celebration of the purest state of creation - one that is guided by intuition. Expanding on Guston’s original thought, this exhibition merges the human experience with external forces, such as technology, nature and spirituality. Bringing together six artists working internationally, A Third Hand plays with materiality, scale and texture to explore - and expand - the very medium of painting.”

Now showing : A Third Hand
@hurstcontemporary in collaboration with guest curator @thomoosterhofprojects
24 April - 28 May

Delighted to be apart of this show 🕸️

“Inspired by Philip Guston’s epiphany, ‘I think that everyone who creates anything knows there is a moment when a third hand is doing it, this exhibition is a celebration of the purest state of creation - one that is guided by intuition. Expanding on Guston’s original thought, this exhibition merges the human experience with external forces, such as technology, nature and spirituality. Bringing together six artists working internationally, A Third Hand plays with materiality, scale and texture to explore - and expand - the very medium of painting.”

Now showing : A Third Hand
@hurstcontemporary in collaboration with guest curator @thomoosterhofprojects
24 April - 28 May

Delighted to be apart of this show 🕸️

“Inspired by Philip Guston’s epiphany, ‘I think that everyone who creates anything knows there is a moment when a third hand is doing it, this exhibition is a celebration of the purest state of creation - one that is guided by intuition. Expanding on Guston’s original thought, this exhibition merges the human experience with external forces, such as technology, nature and spirituality. Bringing together six artists working internationally, A Third Hand plays with materiality, scale and texture to explore - and expand - the very medium of painting.”

Now showing : A Third Hand
@hurstcontemporary in collaboration with guest curator @thomoosterhofprojects
24 April - 28 May

Delighted to be apart of this show 🕸️

“Inspired by Philip Guston’s epiphany, ‘I think that everyone who creates anything knows there is a moment when a third hand is doing it, this exhibition is a celebration of the purest state of creation - one that is guided by intuition. Expanding on Guston’s original thought, this exhibition merges the human experience with external forces, such as technology, nature and spirituality. Bringing together six artists working internationally, A Third Hand plays with materiality, scale and texture to explore - and expand - the very medium of painting.”

Now showing : A Third Hand
@hurstcontemporary in collaboration with guest curator @thomoosterhofprojects
24 April - 28 May

Delighted to be apart of this show 🕸️

“Inspired by Philip Guston’s epiphany, ‘I think that everyone who creates anything knows there is a moment when a third hand is doing it, this exhibition is a celebration of the purest state of creation - one that is guided by intuition. Expanding on Guston’s original thought, this exhibition merges the human experience with external forces, such as technology, nature and spirituality. Bringing together six artists working internationally, A Third Hand plays with materiality, scale and texture to explore - and expand - the very medium of painting.”

Artist spotlight for our upcoming exhibition:
A Third Hand
24 April - 28 May

Julia Bennett | b. 1995

Working with earth pigments, clay, and charcoal, Julia Bennett invites the elements to participate in her creative process. The intuitive gestures take form in the weaving together of old and new paintings, creating patterns and textures that remind us an endless possibility for transformation. Her latest body of work are symbolic of the artist’s deep attachment to remediation. Her work, contemplative of the entanglement of a colonised and over consumed earth, becomes a space of healing, resistance and reflection.

For further information and enquiries please contact the gallery info@hurstcontemporary.com or visit our website www.hurstcontemporary.com

Thank you so much to everyone who came out to ‘Weaving From An Earth Set Ablaze’.
This work is my heart, and to share that has been the highest honour.

Thank you Arty @onetrickponygallery for your trust and support, Taylor @_quotidian for resolving my vision, and everyone else (you know who you are) who made this such a meaningful experience.

Love for you all, spread it around 🕸️🤍

Photography by Evan Bedford @emb

Thank you so much to everyone who came out to ‘Weaving From An Earth Set Ablaze’.
This work is my heart, and to share that has been the highest honour.

Thank you Arty @onetrickponygallery for your trust and support, Taylor @_quotidian for resolving my vision, and everyone else (you know who you are) who made this such a meaningful experience.

Love for you all, spread it around 🕸️🤍

Photography by Evan Bedford @emb

Thank you so much to everyone who came out to ‘Weaving From An Earth Set Ablaze’.
This work is my heart, and to share that has been the highest honour.

Thank you Arty @onetrickponygallery for your trust and support, Taylor @_quotidian for resolving my vision, and everyone else (you know who you are) who made this such a meaningful experience.

Love for you all, spread it around 🕸️🤍

Photography by Evan Bedford @emb

Thank you so much to everyone who came out to ‘Weaving From An Earth Set Ablaze’.
This work is my heart, and to share that has been the highest honour.

Thank you Arty @onetrickponygallery for your trust and support, Taylor @_quotidian for resolving my vision, and everyone else (you know who you are) who made this such a meaningful experience.

Love for you all, spread it around 🕸️🤍

Photography by Evan Bedford @emb

Thank you so much to everyone who came out to ‘Weaving From An Earth Set Ablaze’.
This work is my heart, and to share that has been the highest honour.

Thank you Arty @onetrickponygallery for your trust and support, Taylor @_quotidian for resolving my vision, and everyone else (you know who you are) who made this such a meaningful experience.

Love for you all, spread it around 🕸️🤍

Photography by Evan Bedford @emb

Thank you so much to everyone who came out to ‘Weaving From An Earth Set Ablaze’.
This work is my heart, and to share that has been the highest honour.

Thank you Arty @onetrickponygallery for your trust and support, Taylor @_quotidian for resolving my vision, and everyone else (you know who you are) who made this such a meaningful experience.

Love for you all, spread it around 🕸️🤍

Photography by Evan Bedford @emb

Thank you so much to everyone who came out to ‘Weaving From An Earth Set Ablaze’.
This work is my heart, and to share that has been the highest honour.

Thank you Arty @onetrickponygallery for your trust and support, Taylor @_quotidian for resolving my vision, and everyone else (you know who you are) who made this such a meaningful experience.

Love for you all, spread it around 🕸️🤍

Photography by Evan Bedford @emb

Thank you so much to everyone who came out to ‘Weaving From An Earth Set Ablaze’.
This work is my heart, and to share that has been the highest honour.

Thank you Arty @onetrickponygallery for your trust and support, Taylor @_quotidian for resolving my vision, and everyone else (you know who you are) who made this such a meaningful experience.

Love for you all, spread it around 🕸️🤍

Photography by Evan Bedford @emb

Thank you so much to everyone who came out to ‘Weaving From An Earth Set Ablaze’.
This work is my heart, and to share that has been the highest honour.

Thank you Arty @onetrickponygallery for your trust and support, Taylor @_quotidian for resolving my vision, and everyone else (you know who you are) who made this such a meaningful experience.

Love for you all, spread it around 🕸️🤍

Photography by Evan Bedford @emb

Last couple days of ‘Weaving From An Earth Set Ablaze’

🕸️

Pictured:
1. Myself standing between ‘Double death; future belonging to fire’ and ‘The Wild Oat, the Live Oak, and the Fires’ at One Trick Pony Gallery
2. The installation of ‘The Wild Oat, the Live Oak, and the Fires’
3. Red sun setting on heaps of yellow grasses, buckwheat, yucca, with beavertail and creasote in the distance; all is illuminated by the pink and gold

Last couple days of ‘Weaving From An Earth Set Ablaze’

🕸️

Pictured:
1. Myself standing between ‘Double death; future belonging to fire’ and ‘The Wild Oat, the Live Oak, and the Fires’ at One Trick Pony Gallery
2. The installation of ‘The Wild Oat, the Live Oak, and the Fires’
3. Red sun setting on heaps of yellow grasses, buckwheat, yucca, with beavertail and creasote in the distance; all is illuminated by the pink and gold

Last couple days of ‘Weaving From An Earth Set Ablaze’

🕸️

Pictured:
1. Myself standing between ‘Double death; future belonging to fire’ and ‘The Wild Oat, the Live Oak, and the Fires’ at One Trick Pony Gallery
2. The installation of ‘The Wild Oat, the Live Oak, and the Fires’
3. Red sun setting on heaps of yellow grasses, buckwheat, yucca, with beavertail and creasote in the distance; all is illuminated by the pink and gold

In the face of the gathering darkness, 2024
Charcoal, clay, earth pigment, oil on woven canvas
16x31”

Final week of ‘Weaving from an Earth Set Ablaze’ 💛

Pictured:
In the running of our rivers is the weeping of the earth, 2024
Earth pigment, clay, oil on woven canvas, natural wood stain on pine (frame)
41x78”

💧

Still on view at @onetrickponygallery 🦅

The smoke drives red-tailed hawks from the hills, when it clears, they circle together, windborne, in a dance of renewal; the sun will rise another day, 2024 Oil on canvas, Oil on woven California Fan Palm
8x7 in, 8x5

A year ago today! 🤍

I was so caught up in the chaos of moving from London back to CA last year, that I never got around to showing off the stunning inaugural show at @lbfcontemporary

Inspired by the twentieth-century French film movement of the same name, the exhibition highlights a new wave of motion-based painters from the UK and British art schools. Just as Francois Truffaut, Jean-Luc Godard, Agnès Varda, and their New Wave contemporaries broke away from traditional cinematic conventions, these artists offer fresh perspectives that resonate globally within the landscape of painting.

Featuring artists : Okiki Akinfe, Julia Bennett, Max Boyla, Lewis Brander, Annice Fell, Mannat Gandotra, Nour Malas, Ella McVeigh, H.E. Morris, Sofia Nifora, Christopher Stead, Min Woo Nam, Tianyue Zhong.

🖤🖤🖤

A year ago today! 🤍

I was so caught up in the chaos of moving from London back to CA last year, that I never got around to showing off the stunning inaugural show at @lbfcontemporary

Inspired by the twentieth-century French film movement of the same name, the exhibition highlights a new wave of motion-based painters from the UK and British art schools. Just as Francois Truffaut, Jean-Luc Godard, Agnès Varda, and their New Wave contemporaries broke away from traditional cinematic conventions, these artists offer fresh perspectives that resonate globally within the landscape of painting.

Featuring artists : Okiki Akinfe, Julia Bennett, Max Boyla, Lewis Brander, Annice Fell, Mannat Gandotra, Nour Malas, Ella McVeigh, H.E. Morris, Sofia Nifora, Christopher Stead, Min Woo Nam, Tianyue Zhong.

🖤🖤🖤

A year ago today! 🤍

I was so caught up in the chaos of moving from London back to CA last year, that I never got around to showing off the stunning inaugural show at @lbfcontemporary

Inspired by the twentieth-century French film movement of the same name, the exhibition highlights a new wave of motion-based painters from the UK and British art schools. Just as Francois Truffaut, Jean-Luc Godard, Agnès Varda, and their New Wave contemporaries broke away from traditional cinematic conventions, these artists offer fresh perspectives that resonate globally within the landscape of painting.

Featuring artists : Okiki Akinfe, Julia Bennett, Max Boyla, Lewis Brander, Annice Fell, Mannat Gandotra, Nour Malas, Ella McVeigh, H.E. Morris, Sofia Nifora, Christopher Stead, Min Woo Nam, Tianyue Zhong.

🖤🖤🖤

A year ago today! 🤍

I was so caught up in the chaos of moving from London back to CA last year, that I never got around to showing off the stunning inaugural show at @lbfcontemporary

Inspired by the twentieth-century French film movement of the same name, the exhibition highlights a new wave of motion-based painters from the UK and British art schools. Just as Francois Truffaut, Jean-Luc Godard, Agnès Varda, and their New Wave contemporaries broke away from traditional cinematic conventions, these artists offer fresh perspectives that resonate globally within the landscape of painting.

Featuring artists : Okiki Akinfe, Julia Bennett, Max Boyla, Lewis Brander, Annice Fell, Mannat Gandotra, Nour Malas, Ella McVeigh, H.E. Morris, Sofia Nifora, Christopher Stead, Min Woo Nam, Tianyue Zhong.

🖤🖤🖤

A year ago today! 🤍

I was so caught up in the chaos of moving from London back to CA last year, that I never got around to showing off the stunning inaugural show at @lbfcontemporary

Inspired by the twentieth-century French film movement of the same name, the exhibition highlights a new wave of motion-based painters from the UK and British art schools. Just as Francois Truffaut, Jean-Luc Godard, Agnès Varda, and their New Wave contemporaries broke away from traditional cinematic conventions, these artists offer fresh perspectives that resonate globally within the landscape of painting.

Featuring artists : Okiki Akinfe, Julia Bennett, Max Boyla, Lewis Brander, Annice Fell, Mannat Gandotra, Nour Malas, Ella McVeigh, H.E. Morris, Sofia Nifora, Christopher Stead, Min Woo Nam, Tianyue Zhong.

🖤🖤🖤

A year ago today! 🤍

I was so caught up in the chaos of moving from London back to CA last year, that I never got around to showing off the stunning inaugural show at @lbfcontemporary

Inspired by the twentieth-century French film movement of the same name, the exhibition highlights a new wave of motion-based painters from the UK and British art schools. Just as Francois Truffaut, Jean-Luc Godard, Agnès Varda, and their New Wave contemporaries broke away from traditional cinematic conventions, these artists offer fresh perspectives that resonate globally within the landscape of painting.

Featuring artists : Okiki Akinfe, Julia Bennett, Max Boyla, Lewis Brander, Annice Fell, Mannat Gandotra, Nour Malas, Ella McVeigh, H.E. Morris, Sofia Nifora, Christopher Stead, Min Woo Nam, Tianyue Zhong.

🖤🖤🖤

Behind my family’s home: early October vs last April 🐍
It’s been a year since moving back to California after living elsewhere for the last decade. I’ve felt such an honour to reconnect and immerse myself in its embrace. In the re-education of its history and epic ecology, I’ve found so much healing in my surroundings, and with such, a better understanding of colonial desecration as well as its profound capacity for survival and remediation.
Last spring after heavy rainfall, a peak lushness engulfed the San Bernardino mountains like I’ve never seen - of course, invasive black mustard swept the hillsides and every other square foot - but Phacelia, Black Sage, Coyote brush, Chaparral mallow, Silver lupine, Blue Eyed Grass, and Chia scattered the valley. Breath was easy. The land flourished with blooming biodiversity.
The summer was long and heavy, we were battered by heatwaves. In places that have been stomped on by suburban expansion, the endless heat makes quick work of invasive plants; parched and shriveled, they sit like kindle. With a spark, the land is set ablaze, and containment is laborious, (much of which is done by incarcerated laborers (involuntary servitude/modern slave labor).
The majority of California does not use Indigenous fire practices nor land management, so as a result, we cyclically suffer high intensity wildfires, leveling forests of juvenile monocultures; invasive grasses spread the flame instead of quelling it. The Line fire stood 20 ft from my parents home, we were lucky to avoid such a loss, and 65 days later it is still active in the SBNF.
It’s brought profound insight to learn about cultural fire, a practice that brings new life and revival to our native habitats. I now look to the guidance of the Yurok, as they lead cultural burns and plant seeds for the future after bringing down the Klamath River dams (after generations of activism).
Fire is sacred, it brings renewal. It is crucial for this land’s survival and for our still possible futures.
I find this especially moving as we approach a new season of fascism.
Oppressive powers are fragile. Care is unyielding. It is guided by ghosts and heals the many. I will cling to that now

Behind my family’s home: early October vs last April 🐍
It’s been a year since moving back to California after living elsewhere for the last decade. I’ve felt such an honour to reconnect and immerse myself in its embrace. In the re-education of its history and epic ecology, I’ve found so much healing in my surroundings, and with such, a better understanding of colonial desecration as well as its profound capacity for survival and remediation.
Last spring after heavy rainfall, a peak lushness engulfed the San Bernardino mountains like I’ve never seen - of course, invasive black mustard swept the hillsides and every other square foot - but Phacelia, Black Sage, Coyote brush, Chaparral mallow, Silver lupine, Blue Eyed Grass, and Chia scattered the valley. Breath was easy. The land flourished with blooming biodiversity.
The summer was long and heavy, we were battered by heatwaves. In places that have been stomped on by suburban expansion, the endless heat makes quick work of invasive plants; parched and shriveled, they sit like kindle. With a spark, the land is set ablaze, and containment is laborious, (much of which is done by incarcerated laborers (involuntary servitude/modern slave labor).
The majority of California does not use Indigenous fire practices nor land management, so as a result, we cyclically suffer high intensity wildfires, leveling forests of juvenile monocultures; invasive grasses spread the flame instead of quelling it. The Line fire stood 20 ft from my parents home, we were lucky to avoid such a loss, and 65 days later it is still active in the SBNF.
It’s brought profound insight to learn about cultural fire, a practice that brings new life and revival to our native habitats. I now look to the guidance of the Yurok, as they lead cultural burns and plant seeds for the future after bringing down the Klamath River dams (after generations of activism).
Fire is sacred, it brings renewal. It is crucial for this land’s survival and for our still possible futures.
I find this especially moving as we approach a new season of fascism.
Oppressive powers are fragile. Care is unyielding. It is guided by ghosts and heals the many. I will cling to that now

Behind my family’s home: early October vs last April 🐍
It’s been a year since moving back to California after living elsewhere for the last decade. I’ve felt such an honour to reconnect and immerse myself in its embrace. In the re-education of its history and epic ecology, I’ve found so much healing in my surroundings, and with such, a better understanding of colonial desecration as well as its profound capacity for survival and remediation.
Last spring after heavy rainfall, a peak lushness engulfed the San Bernardino mountains like I’ve never seen - of course, invasive black mustard swept the hillsides and every other square foot - but Phacelia, Black Sage, Coyote brush, Chaparral mallow, Silver lupine, Blue Eyed Grass, and Chia scattered the valley. Breath was easy. The land flourished with blooming biodiversity.
The summer was long and heavy, we were battered by heatwaves. In places that have been stomped on by suburban expansion, the endless heat makes quick work of invasive plants; parched and shriveled, they sit like kindle. With a spark, the land is set ablaze, and containment is laborious, (much of which is done by incarcerated laborers (involuntary servitude/modern slave labor).
The majority of California does not use Indigenous fire practices nor land management, so as a result, we cyclically suffer high intensity wildfires, leveling forests of juvenile monocultures; invasive grasses spread the flame instead of quelling it. The Line fire stood 20 ft from my parents home, we were lucky to avoid such a loss, and 65 days later it is still active in the SBNF.
It’s brought profound insight to learn about cultural fire, a practice that brings new life and revival to our native habitats. I now look to the guidance of the Yurok, as they lead cultural burns and plant seeds for the future after bringing down the Klamath River dams (after generations of activism).
Fire is sacred, it brings renewal. It is crucial for this land’s survival and for our still possible futures.
I find this especially moving as we approach a new season of fascism.
Oppressive powers are fragile. Care is unyielding. It is guided by ghosts and heals the many. I will cling to that now

Behind my family’s home: early October vs last April 🐍
It’s been a year since moving back to California after living elsewhere for the last decade. I’ve felt such an honour to reconnect and immerse myself in its embrace. In the re-education of its history and epic ecology, I’ve found so much healing in my surroundings, and with such, a better understanding of colonial desecration as well as its profound capacity for survival and remediation.
Last spring after heavy rainfall, a peak lushness engulfed the San Bernardino mountains like I’ve never seen - of course, invasive black mustard swept the hillsides and every other square foot - but Phacelia, Black Sage, Coyote brush, Chaparral mallow, Silver lupine, Blue Eyed Grass, and Chia scattered the valley. Breath was easy. The land flourished with blooming biodiversity.
The summer was long and heavy, we were battered by heatwaves. In places that have been stomped on by suburban expansion, the endless heat makes quick work of invasive plants; parched and shriveled, they sit like kindle. With a spark, the land is set ablaze, and containment is laborious, (much of which is done by incarcerated laborers (involuntary servitude/modern slave labor).
The majority of California does not use Indigenous fire practices nor land management, so as a result, we cyclically suffer high intensity wildfires, leveling forests of juvenile monocultures; invasive grasses spread the flame instead of quelling it. The Line fire stood 20 ft from my parents home, we were lucky to avoid such a loss, and 65 days later it is still active in the SBNF.
It’s brought profound insight to learn about cultural fire, a practice that brings new life and revival to our native habitats. I now look to the guidance of the Yurok, as they lead cultural burns and plant seeds for the future after bringing down the Klamath River dams (after generations of activism).
Fire is sacred, it brings renewal. It is crucial for this land’s survival and for our still possible futures.
I find this especially moving as we approach a new season of fascism.
Oppressive powers are fragile. Care is unyielding. It is guided by ghosts and heals the many. I will cling to that now

Behind my family’s home: early October vs last April 🐍
It’s been a year since moving back to California after living elsewhere for the last decade. I’ve felt such an honour to reconnect and immerse myself in its embrace. In the re-education of its history and epic ecology, I’ve found so much healing in my surroundings, and with such, a better understanding of colonial desecration as well as its profound capacity for survival and remediation.
Last spring after heavy rainfall, a peak lushness engulfed the San Bernardino mountains like I’ve never seen - of course, invasive black mustard swept the hillsides and every other square foot - but Phacelia, Black Sage, Coyote brush, Chaparral mallow, Silver lupine, Blue Eyed Grass, and Chia scattered the valley. Breath was easy. The land flourished with blooming biodiversity.
The summer was long and heavy, we were battered by heatwaves. In places that have been stomped on by suburban expansion, the endless heat makes quick work of invasive plants; parched and shriveled, they sit like kindle. With a spark, the land is set ablaze, and containment is laborious, (much of which is done by incarcerated laborers (involuntary servitude/modern slave labor).
The majority of California does not use Indigenous fire practices nor land management, so as a result, we cyclically suffer high intensity wildfires, leveling forests of juvenile monocultures; invasive grasses spread the flame instead of quelling it. The Line fire stood 20 ft from my parents home, we were lucky to avoid such a loss, and 65 days later it is still active in the SBNF.
It’s brought profound insight to learn about cultural fire, a practice that brings new life and revival to our native habitats. I now look to the guidance of the Yurok, as they lead cultural burns and plant seeds for the future after bringing down the Klamath River dams (after generations of activism).
Fire is sacred, it brings renewal. It is crucial for this land’s survival and for our still possible futures.
I find this especially moving as we approach a new season of fascism.
Oppressive powers are fragile. Care is unyielding. It is guided by ghosts and heals the many. I will cling to that now