Burnt Moor

At this time I was interested in 'Land Art' and 'Arte Povera'.  I liked their approach to place and simple materials although there is a danger that land art becomes tasteful landscaping.

The section of the Penwith moors between Penzance and Zennor near our house were, like most moors of gorse and heather (which form in places in Penwith the increasingly rare Western Heath, periodically burnt to create new growth and check the size of the gorse bushes.

The moor above us on Mulfra hill was still grazed at this time by cattle and someone had gotten into the habit of setting fires at night.  The photos here are one of these fires, which is being tackled by the Fire Brigade, and the fantastic landscape that was left after the fire. This landscape of burnt heather and tufted grasses is extremely transitory as new growth begins almost immediately and the wind and rain quickly reduce the brilliant charcoal-black starkness of the scene.

This is land art as a 'found object'.  The only intervention I made was to take the photographs.