Burn: Virtual Exhibition

Fauntleroy’s focus for his Burn series are wildfire burn regions in Yellowstone National Park and Grand Teton National Park. They represent a mixed perspective with some images shot aerially and others shot from the ground. Like much if his other work, the aerial images were captured flying over the territory via small single engine airplanes from an open window for an unobstructed lens.

Burn is timely and relevant in the current environment of climate change and the proliferation of recent fires across the western US and globally. The massive 1988 Yellowstone fires were a wake-up-call and significant warning of destruction and foreshadowing of the cost of climate events. Warming, drought, and the resulting fires have never been more dangerous.

The photographs are careful compositions of positive and negative space while capturing the elegant lines and shapes created by a natural landscape scared by flame. Critical to the series is the the idea of taking something more commonly perceived as unsightly, destructive, negative and making it beautiful, elegant and engaging. “To me, the work has a meditative quality and feel that is similar to Waterline. And while the aesthetics are quite graphic, they are calming and peaceful at the same time.”

“I like to think of the winter season as a time for the land itself to rest. Zero human activity, the silence of falling snow in one of the most remote places on earth is enchanting and reflective.” Hopefully the viewer finds the beauty that results from the juxtaposition of the violent event that transformed the environment and the resulting aesthetic. “In that space, there's hope of discovering a healing element that a landscape at rest is pristine and peaceful - it inspires promise."