Refuge: after the fire by Andreas Rutkauskas is the perfect demonstration of the wealth brought by cross-expertise. He is, first of all, the field photographer who, since 2017, has traveled through areas of Western Canada affected by forest fires. He brings back a tight selection of photos, the titles of which provide information on the places and the moment of the post-incendiary shots.
As an ecological artist, as the theorist Mark A. Cheetham presents in the booklet, Rutkauskas rejects the spectacular despite his cleverly constructed images. The gaze wanders over landscapes sometimes bordering on abstraction, which draw attention to the details of a regenerating nature, in the shade of charred trunks.
Everything in this exhibition, concocted with curator Geneviève Chevalier, takes us away from the fury of the flames. Without ignoring the underlying catastrophes, the images reveal themselves in subtlety, delivering a nuanced perception of the phenomenon. The scientific contribution of a geographer has indeed shaped the artist’s perspective on the fundamental role of fires for ecosystems. This is also supported by, enlightened by his indigenous knowledge, the Wabanaki naturalist Michel Durand-Nolett, with whom Rutkauskas spoke during his residency at the Grantham Foundation. The various ramifications of the artist’s project fit brilliantly into this place, a remarkable woodland setting.
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