‘Our best laid plans’

CCA BFA Thesis Exhibition

Fia Pitre

Exhibition Statement

I pound rocks, burnt bones and ashes to make my own handmade pigments. 

Originally from Honolulu, Hawaii much of my work was inspired by the lush beauty of the islands but also the fragility of a landscape confronted by the onslaught of climate change. Witnessing human-made environmental damage and shifts inform my painting practice, and I seek to investigate: how can beauty and devastation coexist? And; how can art be a tool for healing human-made climate impacts? 

Since moving to the west coast in 2015, my focus has tightened on the incredible biodiversity of California and the impacts of the growing water and fire crises, including their disastrous and lasting effects on indigenous and threatened communities and ecosystems. Within my lifetime I have witnessed the beaches I grew up playing on disappearing, deforestation, rampant mono-cropping, record-breaking storms and fires, and global disregard for the environment which has led us to this pivotal point in the history of our planet. I am inspired by the romantic era of landscape painting, whose images of pristine Yosemite Valley and beautiful untouched wildernesses have influenced me throughout my artistic journey. 

Yet this era of landscape painting is fueled by colonialism, stealing of native lands, industrialization, and idealized imagery of landscapes, that fueled an era of violence and manifest destiny. The iconography of this era such as furs and bones, and figures like the jackrabbit, beaver, bison, and rat often serve as entry-points for viewers to experience the depicted environment through these creatures' perspectives. 

My art practice focuses on researching the specific landscapes I am depicting, often following fire scars or rivers deep into forests, and collecting mineral samples from these locations to make pigments that I incorporate into my oil paintings. Through this process of first-hand documentation, research, and material harvesting, these elements of the physical landscape inform the content of my paintings, taking a journalistic approach to documentation and depiction of the environments. 

I believe artwork has the power to both entice and educate viewers. Through my artwork, I unite research-driven imagery and gathered mineral pigments with a cinematic and colorful visual language to highlight the tensions and encourage conversation about the future of our planet. 

‘our best laid plans’ exhibition walkthrough video