Maggie Hazen

In Alchemical Afterglows, fire becomes a metaphor for transformation—both material and spiritual. Shot on 35mm film in the aftermath of the LA fires and reimagined through a custom AI LoRA generator, the series reinterprets emptied landscapes as sites of transfiguration—spaces where nature begins to heal and reconstitute itself through a spiritual lense. These images trace the breath before transformation, depicting the cycle of illumination as a symbol of renewal. Fire is light, spirit is air, and together they merge upon the land with the quiet presence of healing spirit.

Rooted in the ancient language of alchemy, the work imagines a new mythology of fire’s transfigurative properties—how destruction and creation coexist, and how what is burned away might also be transmuted into radiance. Just as the alchemists sought gold within lead, these photographs search for light within ruin.

While popular media often fixates on devastation, Alchemical Afterglows turns toward the metaphors of reconstruction—toward healing through the residue of pain. It is a visualization of spirit forming new architectures of light upon the same ground once marked by loss. The scars remain, yet they become archives of collective consciousness, remembering what was while illuminating the alchemy that precedes rebirth.