BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//wp-events-plugin.com//7.4.5//EN TZID:Europe/London X-WR-TIMEZONE:Europe/London BEGIN:VEVENT UID:11011@artinliverpool.com DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London;VALUE=DATE:20250926 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London;VALUE=DATE:20251117 DTSTAMP:20251002T143439Z URL:https://www.artinliverpool.com/events/firehawks/ SUMMARY:Open Eye Gallery: Firehawks DESCRIPTION:Firehawks is a project by Stephen King. It is the first of it s kind and the culmination of years of research\, beginning with a collabo ration with Open Eye Gallery in 2021\, where Stephen explored his own expe rience of firesetting.\n\nThe root of the exhibition’s title links to th e phenomenon of the Firehawk\, an Australian bird who creates bushfires by dropping already burning sticks in an attempt to direct prey fleeing an o riginal blaze. They actively transform their landscapes to ensure their no urishment in times of drought and trauma. The project explores the correla tion of the act of the Firehawk bird with people who set fires.\n\nRarely spoken about\, the term ‘firesetting behaviour’ is not widely known or understood. In England\, tens of thousands of deliberate fires are record ed each year. Often regarded as arson or acts of vandalism\, many are star ted by children. Firehawks seeks to raise awareness of firesetting throu gh a visual demonstration of why individuals are drawn to this element as a silent language of survival\, often due to a traumatic experience or env ironment that is challenging to speak about. It will also shine a light on the people and services who help to understand and overcome the complexit ies that can be indicated by firesetting behaviour.\n\nFeaturing 20 images \, displayed in a narrative of three phases\; destruction\, communication and renewal\; Firehawks is the culmination of years of work for Stephen\ , who himself has lived experience of firesetting as a child. After collab orating with London Fire Brigade Firesetting Intervention Scheme\, Northum berland Fire and Rescue Service and Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service as well as numerous conversations and workshops with individuals with lived e xperience\, he has developed an exhibition of work borne out of his innate ability to listen and respond to people’s experiences and sensitively t ranspose their accounts into visual\, metaphorical depictions.\n\nStephen King said: “This exhibition is the result of several years of work\, but ultimately a lifetime of trying to understand and heal from my own experi ences of firesetting as a young person. I’ve worked with so many people associated with firesetting – young people who have set fires\, adults w ho used to and those who work to understand\, intervene and care for them. Their ability to talk\, share and allow me to portray their experiences t hrough my photography\, has been incredibly humbling. \n\n“The visual l anguage of photography can break barriers and destigmatise what is an inc redibly sensitive subject\, and the culmination of this project will hopef ully bring a positive platform to those who are working through their trau ma\, who have overcome it\, and show audiences that the work of frontline services is much more beyond ‘putting out fires’.”\n\nBeginning as a n Arts Council-funded research project in 2021\, Stephen and the exhibitio n’s producer Angharad Williams\, have worked closely with Open Eye Galle ry’s social practice team and leading specialist in the field of child f iresetting behaviour\, Joanna Foster\, to develop a larger scale project\, looking at firesetting\, its triggers\, impacts and personal stories.\n\n Joanna Foster\, who is author of the book ‘Children and Teenagers Who Se t Fires: Why they do it and how to help’ said: “The significant maltre atment in the formative years of many children and teenagers who set fires is well evidenced. Such relational and attachment trauma can lead to comp lex survival responses and often crippling coping mechanisms\, which can i nclude acting out in the form of setting fires. These fires can help regul ate intense and overwhelming emotions\, draw attention to an otherwise inv isible child\, or give voice to words and feelings that are too difficult to speak.”\n\nThe photographic series shown in the exhibition does not s eek to diagnose or define. Instead\, it invites the viewer to sit within t he tension of the fire\, connecting with the issue of firesetting through images of anonymised people and situations\, portrayed with a filmic and d reamlike quality. A black dog walks among scorched trees\, carrying storie s in its teeth\; dolls burn on a mattress floating on reflective water\; a fire service training dummy supports a young boy on the edge of a precipi ce\; new life starts to grow in a community orchard – a site which holds firesetting memories for the photographer himself.\n\nStephen continues: “The images don’t depict fairy tales\, though they borrow their famili ar shapes. I wanted to be sure that fire was ever present in the exhibitio n\, encapsulating the flickering\, crackle\, and smoulder of the element a t the core of the stories. In circumstances of firesetting\, flames become a language\, a companion\, a compulsion\, a release. The work gathers fra gments\; stories from children\, adults talking of their younger selves\, voices from those who work in fire and rescue services\, memories that smo ulder long after the event. It is not a study\, but a visual reckoning — born from experience\, shaped by dialogue\, held in a shared\, collective space. I hope it makes those who have been through trauma feel less alone and less stigmatised.”\n\nElizabeth Wewiora\, head of social practice a t Open Eye Gallery said: “It is so exciting to see the Firehawks projec t become a reality this year within our galleries\, as we’ve been discus sing the project with Stephen for more than five years. Like most good\, s ocially engaged projects however\, this shouldn’t seem a surprise\, as working collaboratively with communities to shape and visualise stories wh ich are important to them takes time. And Firehawks is a very particular s tory\, which needs to be explored with care and sensitivity\; something we hold real value in at Open Eye Gallery.\n\n“Stephen’s approach consi ders the anonymity of all involved whilst still opening up a visual conver sation for our audiences as it explores why people can be drawn to fire du ring traumatic experiences in their lives\, and moreover how wider society and our frontline services respond and deal with this. Stephen’s photog raphic work leans into the metaphorical and surreal which is also a welcom e alternative approach to socially engaged photographic imagery\, which ca n tend to sit more within a documentary style. We can’t wait to see the work come together in the gallery this September.”\n\nAs part of the par tnership with Open Eye Gallery\, Stephen has also been working with studen ts and graduates from Open Eye Gallery’s joint MA in socially engaged ph otography at the University of Salford. 2023 Graduate Rachel Beeson was as sisting Stephen on the photo shoots across the fire service sites\, whilst fellow graduates from last year’s cohort Anna Wijnhoven\, Eleni Karypi dou and Isabel Walker are exhibiting their own work in the upstairs Gall ery 3 space (Next Up).\n\nThe project is supported using public funding b y the National Lottery through Arts Council England.\n\nLead image: Stephe n King\n\nGallery images: Rob Battersby ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.artinliverpool.com/wp-content/upload s/2025/10/image.png CATEGORIES:Exhibitions LOCATION:Open Eye Gallery\, Mann Island\, Liverpool Waterfront\, Liverpool\ , L3 1BP\, Liverpool\, United Kingdom GEO:53.40423;-2.994412 X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=Mann Island\, Liverpool Wat erfront\, Liverpool\, L3 1BP\, Liverpool\, United Kingdom;X-APPLE-RADIUS=1 00;X-TITLE=Open Eye Gallery:geo:53.40423,-2.994412 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:Europe/London X-LIC-LOCATION:Europe/London BEGIN:DAYLIGHT DTSTART:20250330T020000 TZOFFSETFROM:+0000 TZOFFSETTO:+0100 TZNAME:BST END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD DTSTART:20251026T010000 TZOFFSETFROM:+0100 TZOFFSETTO:+0000 TZNAME:GMT END:STANDARD END:VTIMEZONE END:VCALENDAR