A Climate of Change
A Climate of Change
2020. A year of change. A year of contrasts. Catastrophic bushfires and global pandemics paired with regeneration and hope.
We ticked over to 2020 in a haze of smoke as bushfires burned across Australia. Weeks later, the COVID-19 pandemic was on our doorstep. Yet, in the darkness and isolation, we are given a moment to pause and reflect on what’s really important to us.
Amidst tragedy, we are seeing global greenhouse gas emissions slashed with a speed and tenacity that our global community has spent decades failing to achieve. Despite being physically separate, we are seeing people connect and care for one another like never before.
We now have a moment to consider what a rapid global response to the climate emergency could look like. A moment to consider how we might rebuild our communities stronger and more inclusive than ever.
2020 has given us a chance to rethink the world we have built for ourselves, and imagine our world anew.
Horizon invited four local visual artists to reflect on this climate of change and consider the kind of future they want to create.
Over four days, the artworks prompted by this reflection will be released here on this page for you to download for free. We invite you to display this artwork somewhere prominent, serving as a daily reminder that you too can be part of a movement of positive change.
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
KANE BRUNJES
Kane Brunjes is a Gunggari, Gubbi Gubbi man practicing in both public and gallery realms. Through his art practice Brunjes aims to solidify and represent a visual portrayal of how he views and reacts to the environment surrounding him with consideration to history and story. Now working with Birrunga Gallery he continues to develop these core foundations with a guided lens of expertise.
Brunjes has been an active member of Barambah Pottery working alongside other artists continuing the creation of ceramic art in Cherbourg. He is also a part of Digi Youth Arts, an organisation that shares the stories of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people. These significant groups inspire his work and have influenced the development of his arts practice in recent years.
AARON CRAIG
Aaron Craig is a Sunshine Coast based pop artist, whose work is rich in 80s and 90s pop culture nostalgia. Often forging together conflicting elements from cartoons, comics, products and advertising until they become familiar at first glance, but at a second look are completely unique. He references his art style as ‘pop mash’.
FUZEILLEAR (CLAIRE MATTHEWS)
Fuzeillear has been living on the Sunshine Coast for the past eight years, creating work imbued with a calm and stillness that she struggles to find in real life. She cares about our world and how the decisions we all make and the decisions we allow other people to make for us affect our home and each other. With that in mind she has been developing public work intended to encourage us all to contemplate our role in our planet’s life, preserving in paint animals and plants that we are failing to preserve in real life. Working with watered washes and brushes, Fuzeillear uses shadowy textures and strong highlights to bring a sense of depth and space, allowing the viewer to take a breath and, for a moment, float away. Having produced work for Bic, Volcom, Cotton On and Westfield among others, she has found a passion for public art as an opportunity to connect with individuals and communities. Whether that be sparking conversation about pertinent topics, encouraging thoughtful introspection, brightening someone’s day or helping someone feel less alone.
ASHLEE BECKS
Ashlee Becks is an upcoming portraiture artist from the Sunshine Coast. She completed her Bachelors Degree in Fine Arts in 2019 and is currently undertaking her Honours in Fine Arts at QCA. Her practice is approached from a feminist and psychological viewpoint, and her work is focused mainly on images of the self. Ashlee's painting is contextualised by her own experience of having suffered the effects of poor mental health and a deprivation of care. Central to her beliefs is that conversing more openly about mental illnesses is vital to wellbeing. Her paintings are completed in thick impasto using a palette knife. The use of expensive materials which are painted in a considered and time-consuming way is significant, the process is a ‘labour of love’, an act of self-care, and an investment in self.
Download Obsolete-Fuzeillear-print.pdf (4.01 MB)
It’s one thing to say ‘we want a better future’ but without personal change that desired ‘change’ can’t be achieved. The character I have focused on is The Hulk (filled with selfish clouded rage, frustration and anger), transformed into something much softer. Softening the rage monster himself resembles a near impossible transformation, and the type of personal transformation needed for us to follow through with this culture of change. In my artworks I generally merge traits of conflicting characters to create something new. Hulk is coupled with many softer characters to show this change.
My painting is contextualised by my own experience of having suffered the effects of poor mental health and a deprivation of care. Central to my belief is that conversing more openly about mental illnesses is vital to wellbeing. The paintings are completed in thick impasto using a palette knife. The use of expensive materials which are painted in a considered and time-consuming way is significant, the process is a ‘labour of love’, an act of self-care, and an investment in self.
