Aftermath: The Griffith Park Fire
Aftermath: The Griffith Park Fire
Photographs by Colin Remas Brown
May 3rd - 18th, 2008
Opening Reception Saturday, May 3rd, 7-10 pm
On May 8, 2007 a major wildfire broke out in Griffith Park and, over the course of that afternoon and evening, spread rapidly. Before containment, the fire consumed over 800 acres of the 4,200-acre park. Just days after the fire, photographer Colin Remas Brown documented its effects. Where he expected to find only scorched trees and hills, he discovered instead the true victims of the blaze: the native wildlife. During the fire, worries about damage to our neighbor’s homes and the possible destruction of such landmarks as the Griffith Observatory trumped all other concerns. Who wondered if the reptiles went deep enough into the dry, parched ground to survive? How far do you think the squirrels, coyote and deer got? How many birds flew off in the middle of the night?
Brown’s photographs unveil the incalculable losses suffered from a wildfire and what we stand to lose in a future disaster. These photos fascinate and enlighten. They also repel, shock and sadden, for they expose a pitiful and grotesque tragedy, one that would have remained invisible had Brown not ventured into the park that day. But life does go on. “The last day I was there,” says Brown, “there were green sprouts pushing through the blackened soil everywhere.”
drkrm. gallery is pleased to present these photographs in an exhibition commemorating the one-year anniversary of this disaster.
posted by Noé Montes @ 2:03 PM
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