Smoke Art by Rob Tarbell

Rob Tarbell creates incredible works of art by burning everyday objects, such as photos and credit cards, and then capturing the smoke on a paper canvas fixed on the ceiling of his studio.

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"Smokes consist of images that are created by capturing smoke on paper as evidence of a transformation and preservation of the ephemeral. During the process, credit cards, grocery cards, gift cards, photos, and 35mm slides of my artwork are burned to remove their growing presence in daily life, an ironic nod to a self-help technique of burning sentimental things to remove their emotional burden."

Robert realized that in order to make this unique work of art, he needed to control the smoke, while letting it flow on its own. This balancing act of controlling the smoke while letting it act parallels a circus ring show. Masterfully channeling the flow of smoke, he creates ghost-like figures, both animal and human performing circus acts, in a series entitled Smoke Rings.

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"The performing animal images in the Smoke Rings parallel the drawing process."

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"The trainer must recognise and respect the innate nature of an animal when trying to modify its behaviour to achieve a desired outcome: eg training a bear to dance or training a horse to walk upright."

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“The same is true in working with smoke. The inherent properties of smoke must be respected, then permitted to - and yet discouraged from - acting naturally."

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Given the dangers of creating his work, Rob always works in a fire-retardant clothing, with a carbon filter unit and fresh air system with full facial mask.

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He originally set up his studio in a metal garage, but he recently moved to a special room built adjacent to his house to keep all his artistic endeavours isolated.

Check his website: http://robtarbell.com/home.html