Fire!

Fire! traces the representation of fire in British art across the last four centuries. In turns destructive andcreative, fearsome and fascinating, it’s a subject loaded with symbolism, ritual and emotion.Unsurprisingly, the subject of fire has drawn in artists throughout the ages. It features in the work of majorBritish artists such as J.M.W. Turner, John Martin, J.M. Whistler, Joseph Wright of Derby and WilliamBlake, who are presented here alongside contemporary work by artists such as Cornelia Parker, DavidNash, Mark Wallinger and Douglas Gordon.The book looks at the many facets of fire; its ability to express concepts on a human scale, such as warmth,anger and passion; as a storyteller fundamental to religion and mythology; its effects on our language – wetalk of burning desires and blazing rows; as a driving force behind the progress of civilisation throughscience, industry and technology; as a political tool sending visceral message with shocking finality; itscontribution to advances in cooking, pottery, metal and glass; as a signifier of absence, the soul, loss andtranscendence. Three newly commissioned essays on the subject explore fire in the process of making andhow artists’ approaches to fire have changed over time, recording historical, religious, domestic or naturalevents as well as exploring fire as a material phenomenon informed by contemporary themes and issues,combining art and science. This book seeks to address the dual nature of fire showing that fire continues tobe welcomed and feared in equal measure.