Heated Boundaries

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Artist: Ileana Soto

Title: Heated Boundaries

Attribution: Heated Boundaries

Year: 2019

Materials: Silk shantung, Kona cotton; hand dyeing, thermofax screen, textile paint, Fabrico pens, fusing.

Dimensions: 68" h x 39" w

Image Statement: Since 2016, I have been responding through fiber art to the wildfires around me in California, first the Santa Rosa fire, then the Camp Fire in Paradise, CA, then the Australian bush fires, and now, the many fires of the west coast, from California to Oregon to Washington State. Fire occurs naturally in our wild areas, part of the dynamics of nature. However, climate change, because of unregulated industry practices and unmanaged human activity, has brought us extreme and violent fires. The closer that populated areas and “the wild” come, the greater the danger of those boundaries becoming “heated”. Think about this moment in our lives as we await, again, the cycle of our fire season. We’re learning that racial, economic and climate justice are interrelated. Righting these injustices can be our personal and national priority in 2021.