‘Burn Free’ - Response to the Australian Bushfires
The Australian Bushfires of 2019-2020 were a harrowing time for everyone, countrywide. The nation gripped itself over tv screen and over hose as we all fought to save our homes, our lives and ourselves.
The area of The Clarence Valley was one of the multitude of places affected by these fires, with the loss of acres upon acres of national parks and bushland, animals, farms, and homes.
With an already intolerably high Youth suicide rate within The Valley, sensitive times like this truly put community to the test. ‘Burn Free’ was created as a response to this, as a way to give a voice creatively to those young people who lost their homes and experienced trauma through these events. Funding was acquired through ‘Headspace’ and Local Government to fuel local creatives via an indie run arts organisation to create several arts pieces, working alongside these young people. Two mural pieces were installed publicly on the outside of the Headspace community building.
The result was a story from many mouths, hard hitting and individually poignant, showing how the fires had affected us all. We worked with a limited colour palette and this created the ‘flame’ of voices roaring up to be heard.
My piece incorporated a busy style with multiple messages and factions all under the one theme. I played with communication and how we read things visually and linguistically. I referenced ‘Flame Trees’ by Cold Chisel, a pub classic hit known for its connection to Grafton and the heritage of the lyrics being formed in the town with it’s ‘flame trees’. I rendered this in to a hard and literal reflection.
I like to play with the impact of iconography and the use of embellishments such as halos and glows to give raise to or sanctify the importance of everyday items and things. I created the two sides of the coin in regards to sustainable living, by granting both the items of coal and of grown food (a shiny red apple) a raised platform I posed the question of the real importance of both, the compatibility / shared existence of both, and their comparability in this current world.