KANGAROO ISLAND: AFTER THE FIRES

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Charred landscapes, lost homes & habitats.

 

When savage fires ignited KI in the summer of 2020, killing almost half the population (44,000) of kangaroos, koalas, wallabies, dunnarts, pygmy possums & other native animals, many more were left homeless. 

 

Between the fires & the pandemic I spent a week documenting the destruction & loss, but also the rejuvenation as new leaves & new life bloomed on blackened mallee, schrubs & tree trunks. 

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These images are my canvas for my next exhibition.  I am placing & painting the kangaroos back among the ruins of their home – for the shrub is not just a charcoal landscape, it is their damaged dwelling. 

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Alongside, rising from the ashes, are the Phoenix blooms of green leaf, upended in vases – an image of hope for the New Year.