‘Cima Dome Fire III’, monoprint, 22x30cm

While I was researching my current Joshua Tree Commission I was lucky enough to stumble across an excellent article from earlier this year 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.
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.
These ‘Cima Dome’ prints I completed in relation to the affected trees in the Mojave National Preserve, & are reduction monoprints on blended bases, and done at speed to emphasise the transient nature of these habitats and the fragility of their inhabitants.  With this one I was particularly happy with the way the ink behaved for the scorched details on the trunk & branches.

Accreditation for the original photographs I used for the creation of these prints goes to @kovi.konowiecki originally published here;

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/jan/20/joshua-trees-climate-crisis-wildfires