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Firestarter

2024

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A giant patterned lighter burns in an open field at night as a lightning bolt illuminates the sky behind it.

A supersized Zippo lighter that visitors ignite with their own flame.

Firestarter is an interactive installation presented at Nowhere in Monegros, a regional burn I have attended since 2015. The piece is an enlarged replica of the classic Zippo lighter. I wanted to work with fire as a material, so we learned propane systems, sensors, and ignition triggers from the ground up. You walk up, you light a fire. A small, rebellious act of speaking up. It lit the official closing ceremony.

Built from aluminium sheets on a steel frame with hand-cut patterns, LED lighting, Arduino, DMX, and an IR sensor.

Made with Erik Schmitz and Rose Hallgren, with help from Josep Giribet. We built it in David Giribet’s workshop at Calidos in Tarrega.