I conceived and created Rebirthed during a time of deep personal change: while my grandfather was nearing his final days, my nephew was born. My grandparents had a huge impact on me growing up; they are part of my foundation. I felt such conflicting emotions: joy at becoming an aunty, but also deep loss and grief. The ‘fire beds’ in this work helped me process my emotions at the time, and have since gained further layers of meaning.

They reference the Indian cultural tradition of cremation: fire plays an important role in transforming the body from its physical earthly form into a spiritual form.

Making artwork on the land is a very different experience from painting on canvas. I use light and found materials as my ‘paints’, on the precious ‘canvas’ of nature. Spending time on the land has also led me to reflect on fire and its role in regeneration. Rebirthed was first built on Bidjigal land, near the NSW coast, where the coastal Banksia need heat for their pods to open and release their seeds. Not all seeds make it, but many do, and new life is formed. As I translate this work from coast to desert, I muse on heat and the resilience that life forms need in the desert, to adapt and survive.

The clusters of fire also symbolise migration of peoples whose homes are being impacted by climate change. In the Pacific island nation of Palau, I saw places where communities had been forced to leave their homes as rising sea levels destroyed their livelihoods and food sources. Their plight has stayed with me. I pay homage to all those who are being displaced and have to start new lives.

I invite you to pause by the fire beds and experience them with all your senses in the magnificence of the desert.