for those that would sleep

A tall white panel stands against a gallery wall, scattered from top to bottom with small porcelain flames lit from within, glowing amber and orange. They drift down the panel in loose clusters like the scattered outlines of wildfires on a map, each casting a soft halo onto the white.
Close up, a porcelain flame plugged into a wall outlet glows like a nightlight, its thin, curling tongues of orange and gold lit from behind. Below it a second flame burns softly on the white wall, a small comfort that is also a warning.
Title
for those that would sleep
Artist
Samuel Wildman
Date
2023
Description
An installation by Samuel Wildman that covers a gallery wall with nightlights, each topped with a cast porcelain flame, arranged in the pattern of a map of major California wildfires. Turning a familiar object of comfort into a warning, the work is what Wildman calls an expression of “the affective experience of climate change.” It was shown in the Fifty-Third Annual UC Berkeley Master of Fine Arts Graduate Exhibition at BAMPFA (May 10 – July 23, 2023), alongside his altered tiles and soap dishes on the ties between consumption, comfort, and the policies that govern water and waste.
Artwork Type
Installation
Sculpture
Materiality
Ceramics
Light
Climate & Ecology Themes
Fire
Concepts
Loss and Grief
Ecological Domain / Habitat
Urban / Wildland Interface
Methods & Approaches
Data Visualization
Audience / Engagement Type
Public / General Audience
Location
Shown at the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, Berkeley, California
Geographic Scope
Statewide
Rights
Rights held by artist or creator
Website
https://www.samuelwildman.com/for-those-that-would-sleep
Affiliated Organizations
Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive
Item sets
California Art & Climate Archive
UC Berkeley
Media
A tall white panel stands against a gallery wall, scattered from top to bottom with small porcelain flames lit from within, glowing amber and orange. They drift down the panel in loose clusters like the scattered outlines of wildfires on a map, each casting a soft halo onto the white.Samuel Wildman, for those that would sleep: nightlights, 2023, Installation view
Close up, a porcelain flame plugged into a wall outlet glows like a nightlight, its thin, curling tongues of orange and gold lit from behind. Below it a second flame burns softly on the white wall, a small comfort that is also a warning.Samuel Wildman, for those that would sleep: nightlights, 2023, close up