RING OF FIRE
Far x Wide is pleased to present RING OF FIRE, featuring works by Mala Iqbal, JJ Manford, Jesse Patrick Martin, Keri Oldham, Don Porcella, and Bryan Rogers. The artists in this selection explore mythical territories that are at times seductive while also portending of dangers to come. As June Carter-Cash penned, and Johnny Cash sang:

I fell into a burning ring of fire
I went down, down, down
And the flames went higher
And it burns, burns, burns
The ring of fire
The ring of fire


Calling upon wide ranging techniques and influences, Mala Iqbal depicts lone figures navigating an uncertain territory where dark fairy tales and current events intersect. JJ Manford’s metaphysical forests also encourage wandering; their beating colors, wavy lines, and deep spaces act as guideposts for trips within. Jesse Patrick Martin creates ink drawings on paper that feel like intimate cartographies of real and imagined worlds.

Keri Oldham’s watercolor paintings on paper depict women in various stages of battle and are informed by a rich visual vocabulary that includes classical mythology, films, and the Southern vernacular. Don Porcella’s Patron is a darkly humorous work that uses pipe cleaners and dollar store packaging to play with the relationship between artist and collector. Bryan Rogers’ animated GIFs bring a handmade ethos to a digital format, often depicting sequences that feel pulled from a larger narrative, such as spiraling red eyes, or a box-headed dirt-bodied figure writhing in the ground.

RING OF FIRE is organized by Jessica Cannon, and marks the third presentation from Far x Wide, an ongoing project featuring monthly selections of artworks to benefit social and environmental justice organizations. Any sales from this grouping will be split 50% to the artist and 50% to Earthjustice, America’s oldest and largest nonprofit environmental law organization. Earthjustice fights for clean air, water, and the protection of natural lands and wildlife.