The ‘Emergence – Art on the Move’ exhibition showcases emerging and professional artists from all bushfire-affected communities throughout Victoria. Works dealt with the themes of the February 2009 bushfires and the truth of the recovery process.
The original exhibition was held over 2 weeks in February 2011 at the Atrium (Federation Square, Melbourne), it then moved on to Whittlesea for the last 2 weeks of April 2011.
Brendans painting ‘Blacking Out’ refers to the process of damping down all remnant fires & embers after a fire front has passed through. As a CFA volunteer, Brendan was in Redesdale after Black Saturday blacking out. “Sometimes, when we trained out hoses on seemingly dead black & smouldering trunks, the whole tree would explode, sending limbs flying. It amazed me how much energy they still had inside them. I remember hoping that some of the hidden energy would translate to some new shoots down the track.”