After the Fire

Lana Bertoni, Katherine Seppings, Anthony (Red) Webster

Inglewood Town Hall

This premiere exhibition documents the immediate aftermath of the devastating Harcourt bushfire, gathering images that show the shock as well as the courage of the people who lost so much and those who responded to help.

The exhibition has grown out of meetings and time spent with people on the ground: Lana Bertoni, who began by documenting her daughter’s property, at the junction of Fogartys Gap and Woodbrook Road close to the fire’s origin, but then devoted more and more time in the days after with gratitude to the work of the CFA brigades; Katherine Seppings, whose deep knowledge of bushfire was shaken and changed when it roared towards her place in the heart of Harcourt; Anthony Webster, who lives on the edge of the fire zone, and who captured the emotional toll for people whose homes were attacked and destroyed.

The exhibition will be a living document of both the shocking devastation and how people responded. It’s ongoing, and healing will be slow. Out of the tragedy, photographers have captured and held a harsh beauty that will – and must – be remembered.

Event: After the Fire - a Conversation, with Katherine Seppings and Gardens of Fire author Robert Kenny, a Cocktail Hour free after-hours session on Friday 2 October from 3.45pm