Fire
Photographs by James Graham
"Aaron"
"Chris"
I have been playing with fire for as long as I have been afraid of the dark. Photography is the most obvious medium for one who wishes to control light. Portraiture gave me the opportunity to capture people whom I admire indulging in a moment of interaction with fire. These are single exposure studio photographs of my friends and burning fuel, without trickery or manipulation. Since the day we were caught playing with candles under a dry dusty bunk bed we have feared fires rage and desired its hot caress. Fire is the first lust most of us learn to deny. Yet we know at once this is the greatest hypocrisy of all, as fire is the element that keeps us safe. The division between humans and animals is kept in place only by fueling the fire. It keeps us safe. And after safety there is only flesh and bone.
We have a precarious truce with fire, and enjoy its warmth while always living just a few molecules away from immolation. I hope to explore that fragile and narrow separation between fire, and us and perhaps, bring it a little closer.
—James Graham
"Dave"
"Paul and Tony"