Denial
In the summer of 2003, a devastating blaze burned for one month on Mount Lemmon in the Santa Catalina Mountains north of Tucson, Arizona. The Aspen fire destroyed 340 homes in the town of Summer Haven leaving parts of the village desolated and uninhabited. My exploration and study of that abandoned town inspired me to make my photo series Denial. The charred structures I found hidden in the woods appeared to come out of an apocalyptic landscape. By adding utilitarian household object amid the remains, I reconstruct a world where everything is “I wish it to be”. By carefully placing the object into the barren site, I correct the scene; pretend that everything is as it used to be and attempt to rebuild a world that was destroyed by the fire.
