TOMMY NEASE
Roslyn, Washington
Statement
This short video, Sisyphus #1, is Nease’s first foray in filmmaking within the last decade. Dusting off his super 8 camera in the Spring of 2021, he is drawing inspiration from mythological symbolism to display the complex emotions of beginning what ended up being one of the busiest fire seasons in the Pacific Northwest. The fire seasons in the West have only continued their upward trajectory in complexity and duration regardless of the Covid-19 pandemic. Taking advantage of the small lulls in fire response operations in order to observe the landscape critically and respond creatively has been crucial in maintaining mental well-being for the artist within the Sisyphean fire environment.
Biography:
Tommy Nease uses photography to explore the relationship between the natural world and the human psyche. He currently works for the US Forest Service as a Wildland Firefighter and uses image-making to document fire on the landscape as a metaphor for the experience of living and working on the front lines of climate change.
Links:
