Thomas Macker in Fluxo 7.25.18

‘Fire in the Mountains’ — Organized by Andy Kincaid and Thomas Macker at Heart Six Ranch

On June 30th and July 1st at Heart Six Ranch in Moran WY a group show titled Fire in the Mountains accompanied a metal festival by the same name. All of the works in the exhibit were displayed as free ‘takeaways’.

The premise of the exhibition replicates depositories used by governmental agencies: the Pine Beetle-repellent pheromone packets or coyote cyanide m44 bomb. The pheromone packets are used to protect pine forests in the Rocky Mountain region. Each packet is stapled to the bark of a tree and mimics the beetle’s own pheromone telling other beetles to avoid infesting them. The m44 coyote bomb is used to mitigate animal population in the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem. Sex and death are two ways in which we control our environment. These models of environmental intervention are the loose point of departure for considering the content of the works in this exhibition.

Each artwork is displayed in a 9×12″ biodegradable bags. The plastic bags are stapled to trees throughout the ranch’s 83 acre campus. If the works are not taken away over the course of the two days by festival-goers then the pieces are either burned or buried. The display format within the venue functions as festival refuse, government litter, organized control systems, bootleg festival gear and object giving.

In addition to traditional exhibition documentation the festival-goers and artworks are photographed by game cameras strapped to the forest trees.

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