Wilding Cran Gallery is pleased to present Mutations, a solo exhibition of Francesca Gabbiani’s material explorations of Southern California and the vulnerable narrative of paradise consumed. 

Drawing inspiration from her experience living in Los Angeles, Francesca Gabbiani has been captivated by the phenomena and mythology of wildfires, returning to them over and over in an effort to dissect their psychological impact upon our social, environmental, and emotional landscapes. Towing the fine line between enchantment and trepidation, Gabbiani’s intricate, labor-intensive collages evoke the fragility of the paper medium and the artist’s devotional attention to beauty, while addressing the pervasive anxiety of climate disaster. 

Throughout the exhibition, the image of the palm tree stands out as an icon of Gabbiani’s oeuvre. Despite the fact that most palm tree species are non-native to Southern California, their historic importation into the region led to the mythic construction of a new Eden on the Pacific, a sheltered dreamscape of leisure and endless summer. Within Hot Panorama II, 2022, two palms stand as beacons, aglow in flames against a backdrop of billowing smoke and ash. Despite the enticing hues of orange, yellow, red, green, and hot white, the scene captures a precarious moment, granting the viewer time to embrace the allure – and fear – of the unknown. 

In an effort to shatter the artifice of man-made paradise, Gabbiani uses markers such as chain link fences, telephone poles, burnt-out cars, and swimming pools to point to the synergistic relationship between the industrial and natural worlds. Amidst the delicately layered works on paper, a short film titled Sea of Fire screens within the gallery space, granting movement and sound to the artist’s story. Opening upon a theatrical stage, a cherubic Lucifer peeks from behind red curtains, beckoning us into the flames. Breaching the gap between inferno and seascape, the film follows the journey of a marionette spider, ushering the viewer through a horrific blaze of obstacles to the fixed horizon line and ebbing tides of the Pacific Ocean. 

By granting subjectivity to the life-sustaining realities of our planet, Francesca Gabbiani asks us not to look away in fear of what we cannot control. Despite decay and destruction, Mutationsreminds us that wildfire is not an illicit attack, but a call to empathize and communicate with nature. For thousands of years, leading up to the institution of fire suppression laws, controlled fire was used to purify deadened landscape, fertilizing soil for new life. It is through this lens that blazing palms, ashen skies, and phosphorescent seas challenge us to reimagine our role in the shifting landscape of the earth and its inhabitants.