I am the God of Hellfire!

And I bring you

Oct 05, 2024

You fought hard and you saved and earned
But all of it's going to burn

And your mind, your tiny mind
You know you've really been so blind
Now's your time, burn your mind
You’ve fallen far, too far behind
Oh no, oh no, oh no!
You're gonna burn!

(The Crazy World Of Arthur Brown: Fire, 1968)

‘Open Fire’ photographs on display

‘Fogo Aberto’ / ‘Open Fire’ is a series by Brazilian artist Marilene Ribeiro, who makes analogue photographs using medium-format cameras. She burns the negatives after developing them.

Brazilian visual artist, researcher and activist Marilene Ribeiro won the Photoworks Digital Residency last summer for her series ‘Fogo Aberto’ / ‘Open Fire’ as part of the 2024 Earth Photo Awards.

Five years ago, on August 27, 2019, BBC News Brazil reported: August 10 can be classified as a key moment in the recent history of the Amazon. It is now known as the Day of Fire, when rural producers in the Brazilian Amazon allegedly launched an organized movement to set fire to areas of the world's largest tropical forest.
A few days later, the black smoke reached São Paulo, more than 1,200 miles from where the fire started, and day became night in the largest city in the Americas.

Ribeiro photographed important nature reserves in Brazil. After developing the film, she burned it, mimicking the process the landscape had undergone. ‘Open Fire’ tells the story of a planet on fire in response to the world's devastating forest fires. The artist responded to the award for ‘Open Fire’ on Facebook:

Thrilled to have ‘Open Fire’ as the recipient of the Earth Photo-Photoworks Award 2024. Shall the stories that have been burnt echo further and further.

Listen to, understand, value and take action to preserve our natural and cultural heritage:

What is the future of our natural landscapes?
What is the future of our identity?
What is the future of our memories?
Fire is a sharp weapon.

Launched in 2018 by the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG), Forestry England and Parker Harris, Earth Photo is a world-leading program working with still and moving image makers to showcase the issues affecting climate and life on our planet.

The shortlisted and winning works were exhibited in the Earth Photo 2024 exhibition at the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) in London until 21 August 2024. They are now on display at six Forestry England Forests sites until 23 March 2025, at four National Trust sites until 3 November 2024, at The Lost Gardens of Heligan from 1 to 28 February 2025 and at the Sidney Nolan Trust from 17 July to 28 September 2024.