Congratulations to Yekta Tarki on Successfully Defending Her MFA Thesis

We are delighted to celebrate Yekta Tarki (she/her), who has successfully defended her MFA thesis at the University of Calgary. Her work, Visualizing the Pyrocene: The Fort McMurray Project, uses large-scale abstract painting to explore the urgent realities of climate change through the lens of wildfire.

Artist Statement

Visualizing the Pyrocene: The Fort McMurray Project

In this body of work, I create large-scale abstract paintings that address and critique the issue of climate change. I focus on the phenomenon of wildfires, with particular attention to the 2016 Fort McMurray wildfire in Alberta, Canada. Within two days of its onset, the fire forced a massive evacuation, destroyed 2,400 structures, and disrupted the local oil sands economy. This catastrophic event is positioned within a broader context, serving as an example of the global wildfire crisis.

The project unfolds as a visual timeline, from the fire’s ignition to its aftermath. Abstraction through shapes, lines, and colors becomes a creative tool to interpret fire, inviting viewers to engage and construct meaning through their own imagination.

The first painting captures the moment of burning, conveying the heat and intensity of the flames. The second depicts the immediate aftermath: smoke-filled air, charred forest, and lingering greenery. The third portrays the first winter following the wildfire, revealing a stark landscape of blackened trees under snow.

Through these works, I aim to raise awareness, foster community engagement, and inspire empathy about the pressing issue of climate change.

Biography

Yekta Tarki explores the relationship between humans and nature amidst environmental crises through drawing and painting. Her recent projects have focused on climate change, related disasters, particularly wildfires. During her MFA program at the University of Calgary, she investigated the Fort McMurray wildfire of 2016, drawing on scientific data to represent the timeline of the fire and its aftermath.

By merging abstraction with research-based inquiry, her work seeks to raise awareness, foster dialogue, and inspire empathy around the urgent issue of climate change.