Frost Follows Flames

Jeff Frost came to The Number Nine with the recommendations of two talented Coachella Valley artists, Ryan Campbell and Phillip K Smith III. I was needing a tortoise caretaker while on vacation and Jeff was starting a new chapter in his life and needing space to wrap up a project. It became another perfect match for The Number Nine’s mission: win-win-win.

The Number Nine is not everyone’s cup of tea but talking with Jeff for just a bit revealed he passed desert living muster better than I do. However, visiting Jeff’s website was not a simple cruise through pretty pictures. His complex projects interact with the forces of nature and time requiring my thought and challenging my perception. I could feel Ric smiling on this encounter. Jeff had The Number Nine spirit.

Jeff’s recent work has been focused on chronicling California’s fires and the increasing role they are playing in our new stage of climate change. It appears that fire is here to stay and Jeff is capturing its devastating story in photos and video. He’s also shining light to the creative aspects of fire as a performance piece as well as transforming man’s structures and materials into weirdly beautiful creations.

Consider the razor’s edge man has walked on with fire for so many millennium. Harnessing its tremendous power catapulted man on his way to industry and civiliazation. Yet we have created conditions now in which it blossoms on its own and we are left to contemplate how earth rebalances itself due to our interruptions.

Thank you Jeff – you are always welcome back at The Number Nine and we look forward to following your future projects.