Exploring place and placemaking within the artwork, drawing inspiration from the native plants of the Illawarra area as a way of connecting our built environment to our natural surroundings.

After the devasting impacts of the bushfires, I wanted a way of reclaiming our bush landscape and focusing on the benefits that can come from bushfires for our native plants for their regrowth and rejuvenation.

Through research and documentation of local bushlands, I illustrated natives to create an imaginative and playful landscape made up of the beautiful plants known to the coastal plain, escarpment and foothills of the Illawarra region.

Exploring local species such as Coastal Banksia, Hairpin Banksia, Waratahs, Australian Indigo, and the Illawarra flame tree. And local bush food and low-fuel species, Old Man Banksia, Blue Flax Lily, and Coastal Wattle.

The outcome is a bright and colourful artwork that highlights the beautiful flora of the Illawarra region, with intertwining names of native plants throughout the design to help educate and identify local species as a celebration of new life emerging from the fire, the history of our landscape and native flora.

This work was created for the Wollongong City Council and installed in 2022 as a public art piece covering the amenities block at Gilmore Park, Wollongong.