Helena Sucero “Pyrocene” – 2026 Finalist

Helena Sucero – “Pyrocene”

Milwaukee, WI

Division II: 19–22 Years Old

Found box, found napkins, van dyke brown prints, embroidery floss

Fire severity and frequency rises with changes to our climate. This piece depicts two fires from Southern California; one from 2020 and one from 2024. These images were referenced from news articles, drawn in charcoal and transferred to linen napkins using van dyke brown printing. The images are suspended: isolated events connected to one another by strings. They exist on separate sides of a box but they are not fully independent of one another. The box can be closed, but the action brings the events closer to one another, closing the interval gap and referencing the increasing frequency at which these disasters are occurring. The process of creating the images provides an old-fashioned look, but helicopters and RVs within the images remind us that these are recent events. Disasters such as this cannot be pushed back in history, nor should they be ignored. Every few years I watch my family’s homes burn to the ground and wonder when this will occur outside my own house. I still have the privilege to be able to close the box.