Eternal Fires
Emily Johns
What the
Oil is Thinking
Six large etchings
The black goo of the printer’s ink spreads the oil thin enough to
see its story.
Eternal Fires
The Eternal Fires have been burning near Kirkuk in Iraq since the time of Nebuchadnezzar. Until recently women suffering from infertility would spend the night there and in the morning they would throw a handful of sand upon the ground. If a flame appeared they would know that the demon that had occupied their womb had gone. The first oil well in Iraq was sunk here in 1927. The oil company put out the Fires as a safety precaution.
230cm x 90cm