Is it possible for an individual to achieve personal refinement through pyretic methodology?

Abstract

This paper documents my research into fire and its redemptive qualities. Through the initial lens onto the Australian desert landscape, the focus turned to challenging the paradigm of the spiritual self through a series of temporal pyretic installations. These were sited both in the far west of New South Wales and Sydney suburbia allowing comment to be drawn regarding contextualizing our corporate responsibilities to our natural environment. The resulting visual provocations comprised a series of ignited temporal works ranging from fire tubes; fire fountains; the solitary flame; and an active furnace. An extensive variety of artists and writers were investigated and referred to, such as Yves Klien, Nakahashi Katsushige, Gaston Bachelard, and Stephen J. Pyne. Within the imagery of these flames, concepts of reverie and spiritual challenge were investigated and discussed, resulting in the suggestion of the need for us to embrace the necessity to improve ourselves through the often difficult process of metaphorical trial by fire.