Trigger

This painting is a conceptual representation of the plutonium “triggers” manufactured at the Rocky Flats Nuclear Weapons Plant. Often referred to as pits, buttons, or cores, these devices form the explosive center of a nuclear weapon. On their own, they operate on the same physical principle as an atomic bomb. When incorporated into thermonuclear weapons, they can initiate explosions up to a thousand times more powerful.

During the Cold War, Rocky Flats produced an estimated 70,000 plutonium triggers—enough destructive capacity to devastate the planet many times over. Today, roughly 99 percent of the U.S. nuclear arsenal still contains plutonium triggers manufactured at Rocky Flats.

The painting transforms the trigger into a field of floating particles or atoms, evoking both the microscopic scale of nuclear matter and its vast, uncontrollable reach. A surrounding color field extends beyond the form, suggesting radioactive energy that permeates all life. The work contemplates the tension between creation and destruction, capturing the fragile boundary between human control and atomic-scale forces capable of altering life on Earth.