Damyan Doumanov

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The Fire Garden, 2026

Fireflower №1, 2026
Screenprint on paper, 35x55 cm

Fireflower №3, 2026
Screenprint on paper, 35x55 cm

Fireflower №2, 2026
Screenprint on paper, 35x55 cm

The Fire Garden originates from ra series of high-speed exposures recording the turbulent core of a wood fire through a 200mm telephoto lens. Working at a distance to capture momentary thermal surges, the photographic process operated as a study in volatility, where composition and exposure remained inherently unpredictable. The resulting forms were revealed only through the retroactive process of chemical development.

In the subsequent editing phase, the incandescent structures were isolated from their ambient dark grounds, emphasizing their linear and architectural qualities. Rendered in silver emulsion, these fluid entities occupy an ambiguous threshold between abstract gestural mark-making and natural geometry, evoking the structural symmetry of botanical specimens. This morphological parallel explicitly references Karl Blossfeldt’s seminal catalog Urformen der Kunst (Art Forms in Nature). Serialized sequentially as Fireflower No. 1, 2, 3, the suite functions as a speculative taxonomy of luminescence, framing the phenomena of fire as an Urformen des Lichts—an investigation into the primordial archetypes of light.

Translated into monumental, large-format screenprints, the suite relies on a reversal of traditional printmaking techniques. Tonal values and volumetric depths are constructed entirely through dense, overlapping applications of black ink, while the luminous subject matter itself is defined by the unprinted surface of the rag paper. Through this subversion, light is articulated not as an applied pigment, but as a deliberate void within the field.