Promethean Fire

Knowledge brings both power and trouble: the more you know, the more accountability embedded into the actions informed by the knowing. Human innovation heavily relies on two contrasting forces, that of creation and that of destruction, constantly seeking balance. Knowledge, information, technology – all of them superpowers, all of them carrying potential for misuse, harm and burning.

Prometheus, God of Fire, made an incredible gift to humanity, all while purposely ignoring his superiors’ wishes, knowing well that punishment for his transgression will not be light, or quick. In fact, he spent the rest of eternity in torment for it. Naturally, the general consensus is that such sacrifice is essential for growth, for progress, innovation, civilisation, that fire itself is not just a destructor, but a purifier, one that either preps the land for a new crop, or simply makes room for a new site.

Lucian Bran has been experimenting with technical interventions and processes in the darkroom, altering and distorting his images on the photographic paper, effectively burning the chemicals-saturated surfaces with depictions of burned locations and items. At the core of his long-term series Promethean Fire lies the concept of duality, progress and enlightenment, hand in hand with misuse and harm. Accidents and destructive incidents, both on an individual scale, and a global one, in which society, as a living organism, continuously feeds the global thermal degradation, are his core elements, which he materializes through photography, objects and installations.

The photographs in the series Accidents presents images of accidental fires enlarged and solarized in the darkroom, mounted on dibond and framed with charred wooden frames. Their display mimics the shape of a flame.

Thermscapes is a photographic exploration of glasshouses across Europe, where technology creates and sustains environments for tropical plants to exist in otherwise inhospitable climates. These photographs are developed at 60º Celsius — well above the standard 41º — subjecting the film to thermal stress that alters its colours, transforming greens into shades of cyan. By printing the negatives, the images evoke the aesthetic of thermal camera footage. At 60º Celsius, the plants’ ability to photosynthesize begins to fail, leading to dehydration and, with prolonged exposure, death. The series emphasizes the fragile balance between preservation and destruction in human interventions with nature.

Gripen’s Ande refers to Saab’s late-1990s experimental project to replace the traditional steering wheel of the Saab 9000 with a joystick. The innovation aimed to reduce the impact of the steering wheel on the driver during frontal collisions but ultimately caused significant handling issues. Steering with a joystick proved less effective than with a traditional wheel. This project, called Saab Prometheus, was likely inspired by the company’s experience with jet fighter technology, as Saab is also known for manufacturing fighter planes. However, the spirit of the fighter jet resisted assimilation into the car.

The Hosts introduces three Molotov cocktails, reimagined as friendly and approachable objects. These works symbolize the interplay between creation and destruction, capturing the dual forces that shape human innovation and conflict.