Global warming has had significant effects on the planet, causing bushfires to happen more frequently. In 2019, Australian bushfires killed more than one billion animals. Scientists have demonstrated that there is a direct correlation between climate change and an increase in fires - this is empirical face, and awareness of these issues needs to be increased.

In my environmental art practices series. I did field research about the February 2021 Bells rapids bushfires. Instead of driving a car. I decided to ride my bicycle., conscious that all energy production on this trip should remain as carbon-neutral as possible. I used this experience as a theme, using charcoal from the bushfire mixed with Chinese calligraphy ink as a pigment, and my bicycle wheel as a brush. Letterpress printed on the canvas indicated the GPS coordinates of the journey. The work is a harmony between my Chinese background and Eastern aesthetic and Western aesthetics of minimalism and conceptualism.

Wen Dung Chuan, Bushfire Survey, 2021, charcoal from Bells Rapids, Chinses calligraph inks, wooden glue, canvas, 83 x 93cm, Curtin University

Wen Dung Chuan, Bushfire Survey, 2021, charcoal from Bells Rapids, Chinses calligraph inks, wooden glue, canvas, 83 x 93cm, Curtin University

List of Figures

Wen Dung Chuan, Bushfire Survey, 2021, charcoal from Bells Rapids, Chinses calligraph inks, wooden glue, canvas, 83 x 93cm, Curtin University.

Wen Dung Chuan, Bushfire Survey, 2021, charcoal from Bells Rapids, Chinses calligraph inks, wooden glue, canvas, 83 x 93cm, Curtin University.

Wen Dung-Chuan

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Posts tagged with bushfire

The Fieldwork of Bells Rapids Bushfires