Dodder as an Allegory for Colonialism

This illustration was conceived from my commutes to school on the 210 freeway. All over the mountains a strange fluorescent orange plant had been growing, multiplying as the months past. It was while I was researching Native Californian fire regimes that I discovered the name of this plant; dodder parasite. Native Californians burn these parasites as part of their traditional fire regimes. Out of this research came the idea to represent all three settler colonial states (Spain, Mexico, and the US) as the dodder.