Tectonic structures of the world move at a pace often imperceptible to the human eye. Pressure builds beneath our feet; fault lines and hairline fractures give evidence of this process but often go unnoticed amidst the illusion of regularity.

Fire on the Mountain deals with moments of seismic change. As power becomes consolidated, the brittle earth can hold its shape for only so long before reshaping itself to address this structural imbalance.

Returning to the motif of the volcano, Polakowski’s sculptural paintings dissect the spiritual narratives and myths we generate to navigate periods of transition and change. Often, we are simultaneously repelled by the resulting eruption while being pulled toward the labor of rebuilding.