| We
have been invited by The Holmes à Court Gallery Perth to
exhibit new work during the Perth International Arts Festival
in February 2003, the theme for which is Fire. Just before departing
for Sydney to begin a three month residency at Artspace we got
reports in London of the bushfires in Sydney. The press reported
the fires focusing on the sheer devastation. Sensationalism of
the event caused a large amount of misinformation to be reported
to the public. Headlines screamed "five million trees destroyed!"
Having
arrived in Sydney a few months after the fires of 2001 swept
through the area, we made contact with a fire ecologist who
offered to take us into restricted parts of Heathcote National
Park. It was incredible to see how quickly the bush had responded
and regenerated in such a short amount of time. Even though
some trees were destroyed, many trees survived by various systems
of regrowth.
The
sensational stories reported in the UK did not really ring true
when we looked across the forest of trees covered in furry regrowth
and the ground blanketed in seedlings activated by the fire.
The negative aspects of fire on the landscape is a far more
complex issue in the Australian context. It is not a simple
case of complete destruction as the media reported. Many indigenous
plants respond positively to fire as long as the fires are not
too frequent and the regenerative process has time to work.
We
collected some amazing photographs and video footage that we
have used as a starting point for the development of a new series
of work. The positive effects of fire and the important role
that it plays in the ecology of Australia is inspiration for
this new body of work.
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