Six years ago, just as Santa Barbara was about to experience a string of wildfires amid the drought, multimedia artist Ethan Turpin embarked on a quest to record what these blazes look like from the inside. While he produced a number of videos that we posted on independent.com, the main goal was developing a final project, which is now showing at the Santa Barbara Community Arts Workshop. Called Burn Cycle: Living with Fire, the multifaceted exhibit features immersive displays, short documentaries, and hands-on climate change explorations, enhanced by Spanish language translations as well.
Turpin answered a few questions about the exhibit this week.
Why combine multimedia art and fire?