bushfire brandalism
A public art campaign challenging media control and climate inaction during Australia’s 2020 wildfires.
BUSHFIRE BRANDALISM
During the Australian wildfires of 2020, the streets of Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane became the canvas for the nation’s largest unsanctioned outdoor art exhibition.
Organized and realized by 41 artists, the project replaced 78 advertising posters with bespoke artworks. In direct response to the climate crisis—highlighted by the devastating droughts and catastrophic bushfires—the initiative served as a creative outlet for the collective feelings of hopelessness and powerlessness experienced nationwide during that time.
The original artworks explored a range of subjects, from the fossil fuel industry and the bravery of local firefighters to the destruction of Australia’s unique flora and fauna. With a combined following of 700,000 across social media, participating artists aimed to amplify awareness of the underlying causes of the fires and highlight the urgent actions needed to prevent future disasters. Installed on bus stops and other urban advertising spaces, the works featured QR codes linking directly to over 30 charities working on the ground—offering viewers a path to actively support recovery and climate action.
Beyond the bushfires, the project also called attention to the use of conventional advertising spaces in Australia. With a single entity controlling 59% of daily newspaper sales, the artists questioned the influence of mainstream media on public discourse, particularly regarding climate change coverage. A full set of the 41 posters were aquired by NGV the National Museum of Victoria, Australia representing the political engagement of Australian artists, and their commitment to addressing climate change.
Participating Artists Included: Georgia Hill, Tom Gerrard, Sarah McCloskey, Amok Island, Andrew J Steel, Blends, Callum Preston, Cam Scale, Damien Mitchell, Dani Hair, DVATE, E.L.K, Ed Whitfield, FIKARIS, Fintan Magee, HEESCO, JESWRI, Ghostpatrol, Leans, Lluis Fuzzhound, Lotte Smith, Lucy Lucy, Makatron, Michael Langenegger, Peter Breen, The Workers Art Collective, Stanislava Pinchuk, Lazy Edwin, Thomas Bell, Tom Civil, WordPlay Studio, Peter Breen.
Special thanks to the many participating artists and creative professionals who chose to remain anonymous, as well as 20 volunteers, MilkBar Print, Brandalism UK, Bill Posters, Sasha Bogojev, Ian Cox, KGB Crew, Public Access, Nicole Reed, Luke Shirlaw, Jordan Seiler, After Midnight Film Co, Everfresh Crew, The Culprit Club, The Peep Tempel, Wing Sing Records, Waste, Adam Scarf, NCCP, Gabby Dadgostar, James Straker, Partier Bresson, and Charlotte Pyatt. Read more via The Guardian
“As a collective group of Australian artists, we have been driven to reclaim public advertising space with posters speaking to the Australian government’s inaction on climate change and the devastating bushfires. We do not accept that this situation is ‘business as usual’. We are making these issues visible in our public spaces and in our media; areas monopolized by entities maintaining conservative climate denial agendas. If the newspapers won’t print the story, we will.”
