Cleansing Fire | Marina May Raike

With the recent wildfires in Australia, California, and Alberta, it’s easy to feel uneasy while looking at an image of a forest fire.

But when I saw the fires in Kirkland Lake, I was blown away by the power and the beauty. It was declared a state of emergency, when in May 2012, close to 300 residents had to evacuate. Anyone in that situation deserves compassion.

Yet, within the greater scope of a viable ecosystem, forest fires play an important role, and that’s the focus of my recent series, Revival. In these paintings, the forests are stronger than the fire and the sky reflects the hues as it inhales the vivid fumes of spruce and cedar wood.

I’ve appropriated theological terms like Resurrection and Redemption in my titles to evoke the awareness of cleansing, recycling and saving our ecosystem - all things which fires do when in proper proportion. The overarching theme of my art practice includes our deep but tenuous connection with the ecosystem as well as the need to relinquish control over it.

Sometimes we just need to let the fire burn.

Marina May Raike