Cima Dome Fire VIII

When I was researching my current Joshua Tree Commission I was lucky enough to stumble across an excellent article from 2022 on guardian.com which highlighted the perilous situation of the species in the western states of the USA. This focused particularly on the havoc wrought by the wildfire in the Cima Dome region of the Mojave National Preserve, which destroyed over a million Joshua Trees in August 2020. Accreditation for the original photographs I used for the creation of these prints goes to photographer, Kovi Konowiecki.

Efforts are underway to replant/replace these keystone plants, which are relied upon by more other plants & animals than any other within their ecosystems. Sadly due to climate change they cannot migrate, germinate & grow at a sufficient rate to replace the current generations, & estimated projections on rising temperatures & lack of rainfall in their environs mean that without concerted interventions the Western Joshua will become extinct by the end of this century.

This is one of the two larger ‘Cima Dome’ prints of 2022 I completed in relation to these affected trees in the Mojave National Preserve; they are both composite gelliplate monoprints, where I’ve used masking fluid in negative to create the black for the main tree. I then used a dry brush to feather out the scorched areas of the leaves & flower heads.

'Cima Dome Fire VIII' was selected for the Woolwich Contemporary Print Fair in 2022 and was included in co-founder Jack Bullen's Top 10 picks of the Fair. It also was exhibited at the 'In Natura' exhibition in Sao Paulo, Brazil in June 2023.

This print is only available framed & packaged/shipped by specialty courier.