According to the Sufi tradition, there is a fire with in each of us that is a calling for union. When this spark is awakened, like a moth attracted by the candle, the aspirant is drawn into the flame, becoming consumed with the fire that will burn away their own separate self, until their ego is annihilated and only the eternal self remains.

For Residual I am using fire to paint directly on the canvas. Progressively expanding triangles are taped out onto raw canvas. As the triangles grow, more of the canvas is exposed to the flame, which burns the canvas filling it with clouds of smoke, a residue of its movement.

In my work I am interested in the process of transformation. Painting with fire is an alchemical act. To use the flame, you have to be completely focused and absorbed by the flame, my movements have to correlate with the movement of the flame as though we are engaged in a coordinated dance. The series of 7 paintings are exhibited along side a video documenting the process of me burning the canvas.