“Bearing Witness: Fragments of Humanity” exhibit (Photo – Melissa Michelson)
Bearing Witness: Fragments of Humanity aims to honor what remains, and what rises.
By Melissa Michelson
Heather C. Morrow has been a resident of Altadena for 17 years and began working with digital photography in 2003. A potter for 22 years, she lost her ceramics studio to the fire, though she was able to save her cameras.
“Bearing Witness: Fragments of Humanity” opened on July 12, just a few days after the six-month anniversary of the Eaton Fire. The exhibit, which is scheduled to run through September, features images of beloved, iconic spots such as Fox’s Restaurant and the local hardware store on Mariposa, alongside a few black-and-white photographs. But most of the images are presented in vibrant colors, infusing life into an otherwise bleak landscape.
Visitors may leave the exhibit awestruck by the real, tangible evidence of the devastation wrought by the day-long Eaton Fire, which tore through neighboring communities to the north. At the same time, they may reflect on the juxtaposed beauty captured by the artist, shapes, colors, and materials that convey both destruction and resilience. Altadenans may recognize their own homes in the photographs, which, much like a post-Eaton drive through the once tree-lined streets of Altadena, depict the remnants of homes lined up in a collective, mostly unrecognizable visual destruction.
Greeting the visitor is a reminder of Altadena’s quirky soul: a cracked Happy Buddha sculpture in the yard of a fire victim, surrounded by rubble. Nearby, a tribute to West Altadena fire victims features a vase of red roses and the names of those who perished, printed simply in a respectful display.
An artwork by Heather C. Morrow hung on a wall (Photo – Melissa Michelson)
One photograph, in particular, stood out: an abstract sinewy ribbon of melted metal rubble draped over a mid-century flagstone-clad chimney that miraculously survived unscathed. In a quiet yet poignant way, Altadena’s nature seems to comfort and embrace the lone survivor (the chimney), as soft pink and metallic bands of destroyed structure fall around it, standing as the only testament to what survived the flames.
A key takeaway from the exhibit is that Altadena is far from gone. Altadenans have already visited and signed the guestbook, and a large map of the Altadena burn zone where they have used heart-shaped pushpins to mark their properties. The box of Kleenex on the sign-in table underscores the emotional weight of the experience.
The photographs in the exhibition are priced between $150 and $500. Morrow’s next project will involve interviewing and photographing Altadena fire survivors about a recovered object that holds personal meaning to them, “a collective preservation of strength.”
In a landscape dominated by venture capitalists, real estate-led investor tour groups, and looters stealing everything from lawn signs to copper pipes, this exhibit may serve as a reminder to Altadena fire survivors that their community is still loved and beautiful. Like the ever-present chimney survivors scattered throughout Altadena, it will rise again.
Location 414 S. San Gabriel Blvd, Suite B-150 (ground level, in front of the storage facility) Open Tues-Sat, 10:00 am - 4:00 pm Upcoming Event August 23 Artist talk, 11:00 am More information: SanGabriel@artistsandmakersstudios.com
Thank you so much for covering this important exhibit!