DNA on Fire: The Burning Code of Transformation
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DNA on Fire (2020) is part of my Ephemeral Atmosphere Collection, painted during a moment of profound questioning about identity, transformation, and the invisible codes that shape us. This 48 x 48 inch acrylic on canvas ignites these themes into a vivid visual dialogue — a strand of DNA not as scientific blueprint, but as a fiery, living thread of emotion and change.
The painting pulses with layers of molten reds, electric yellows, and vibrant blues, arranged in gestural, spiral-like formations that both reference and distort the iconic double helix. The marks are urgent, layered, and raw, suggesting a code in flux, a system unraveling and rewriting itself.
In this work, I found a kinship with Julie Mehretu, whose monumental abstractions chart chaos, tension, and shifting systems through layered marks and fractured compositions. Like Mehretu, I see abstraction as a way to map the invisible — the systems of biology, culture, and personal narrative that constantly collide and mutate.
DNA on Fire is not about destruction alone. The fire becomes a symbol of renewal, of the possibility inherent in collapse. The painting captures the tension of transformation — the burning away of old narratives, the emergence of something unknown and urgent.
As part of the Ephemeral Atmosphere Collection, this work stands as a metaphor for 2020 itself — a year where the personal and the collective underwent mutations, revealing the fragile, combustible codes beneath our identities.
