Ella McGaw Lament for the lost

My body of work documents my exploration of the loss inflicted by the 2019–20 bushfires. My intent was to understand how this devastation of species and communities has become insignificant, layered below conflicting human narratives surrounding climate change, inaction, risk, future human and environmental needs. I pulped materials from the fires – charcoal, ash, earth, pages of research, newspaper articles – into paper, tonally recreating each area I had visited – the white of ash, black of burnt surroundings. The resulting material tangibly represented my concept, where I could see all the conflicting narratives tangled like marks left on a scribbly gum.

Influencing artists:
William Kentridge
Janet Laurence
Martin Bell
Ildiko Kovacs