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This elemental painting featuring fire, water, air and steel is the result of Downie’s one-week residency placement in June 1988 on the North Alwyn oil platform, owned by Total Oil Marine plc. It was only a matter of weeks after this residency that the horror of the Piper Alpha disaster took place in one of the major North Sea oil fields. This work is based on the flaring of waste gas from the drilling platform. ‘It was both shocking and exhilarating to witness such gases from below the sea being burnt off, and was challenging for me to create a painting that truly echoed this experience.’ – Kate Downie