Fire promises many things. From the first signs of smoke, a stray wisp carries an acute warning of danger. Fire lines that blindly march through tree filled valleys leave trails of destruction, summers of grey skies, and red suns. And yet, through this consumption – fire welcomes into the space it leaves behind, room for essential change. Just as First Nations Australians have for millennia encouraged bush regrowth through controlled burning, fire is essential to serotinous pods and the clearing of dense underbrush, maintaining the environment and everything that lives from it. Simultaneously, smoke (ever the reliable messenger), has been employed by many cultures to send messages across distances of mountains, water, and even into the heavens.
Emerging from the hibernation of the colder seasons, Kindling explores this duality of fire: the destructive and the regenerative, celebrating the symbiotic necessity of both. Featuring works by Tom Blake, Casey Chen, Aidan Hartshorn, Claire Healy & Sean Cordeiro, Savannah Jarvis, Thea Anamara Perkins, Joan Ross, Vipoo Srivilasa, Louise Zhang and artists from Mimili Arts Centre: Tuppy Ngintja Goodwin and Umatji Tjapalyi, fire is explored on both an aesthetic and conceptual level.