The Bushfire, The Flood and the Virus.

Several significant events took place in my immediate community during a 2 year period from 2020 to 2022, the beginning of which also coincided with the birth of my second son.
The first month of 2020 was marked by the continuation of a devastating bushfire season along the east coast of Australia, now colloquially known as ‘Black Summer’. A couple of months later COVID-19 arrived in Australia and the beginnings of the global pandemic.
In February 2022 unprecedented flooding exceeded all previously existing records and completely devastated multiple Northern Rivers communities, creating almost unfathomable damage and destruction.

As a mother one of the strongest instincts is to keep my children safe, yet these events activated an almost ever-present sense of fight or flight, and the balance of despairing at the devastation whilst still outwardly remaining positive for my children and the state of the world I brought them into had never been so arduous to maintain.

This work is a reflection of my solaces, found in nature and my children as the very antidote to such turbulent circumstances, it questions where we look for hope when our usual sources disappear and considers how we foster positivity and navigate our way in an uncertain world.