Gippsland Art Gallery | 1 February to 26 April 2020 | Free Entry

From February Gippsland Art Gallery will host the impressive and immersive work Australia Phoenix: A Cosmology by Susan Purdy. Expanding over twenty-one metres, the monumental work wraps around the gallery and encompasses the viewer in a black and white narrative.‍

Australia Phoenix surveys the cyclical phenomenon of fire over hundreds of thousands of years and documents the role humanity plays in shaping this event.

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Each section of the long work forms part of a story, starting with the cosmos. As the viewer continues along the work, a tension starts to build when an isolated island, with its unique blend of flora and fauna, is exposed to new arrivals.

Artist Susan Purdy says, “Australia Phoenix grew from the ashes of the terrible 2009 Black Saturday fires, which directly affected me and my community in and around Morwell. In the aftermath, I came to understand that we are all connected in the way that all elements in nature are interconnected, and that the failure of one small part will affect the whole in sometimes catastrophic ways. I used this perspective in creating the work.”

The exhibition celebration for Australia Phoenix: A Cosmology will take place on Friday 14 February, 6:00pm, and all are welcome to attend.‍

Australia Phoenix: A Cosmology will be on display from 1 February to 26 April 2020.

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